Flowers of Trees
by xellos540
Summary: The Hyuuga and the Sarutobi clans are well-known in Konoha, yet Hanabi and Konohamaru managed to become chuunins without knowing of the other's existence. Now this is about to change! Will the differences between our obnoxious shinobi and prideful kunoichi result in disaster? Or maybe the sakura flowers will not be the only thing to bloom this year?
1. Author's notes

**Hello, everyone!**

**I present you my Konohamaru x Hanabi fanfiction story, starting with a prologue following these author's notes. A few more chapters are "done" already, so they might be posted relatively soon. This is meant to not disturb the frequency of updates even if I'm stuck on later chapters, though...**

**Timeline and setting: after the Fourth Great Shinobi War, therefore I assumed my own ending to the current events. I also took liberties with Hanabi's personality, although this will be (hopefully) explained further in the story. There might be some inconsistencies concerning the age of the characters. Konohamaru and his peers are 16, Hanabi is 15, meaning Naurto is around 20... or at least he should be.**

**Warnings: the story contains major manga (and consequently anime) spoilers. The story will probably contain violence, coarse language and mild adult themes. The rating may change to M. My lacking English skills should be a warning as well... probably.**

**Pairings: mainly KonoHana, but NaruSaku and one-sided Moegi x Konohamaru and Moegi x Udon is mentioned (at least at the moment).**

**Disclaimer: Naruto manga is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and other concerned parties. I am not a member of any of those and therefore I don't own Naruto in any form. The only thing I own is authorship of this fan-made story.**

**Okay, enough words wasted, I believe, so onto the prologue (next chapter actually)!**

**Updates:**

**1. I am in the process of correcting all chapters, mostly removing typos and such, but I am also changing some strange sentences and incorrect information.**

**2. For those expecting straightforward romance I have good and bad news. Good: you will find it here. Bad: you have to read through many adventure or one-sided crush chapters before "things" get serious.**


	2. Prologue

**Here's the prologue.**

**Disclaimer: read previous chapter for details.**

****[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]****

**(* * *)**

"Are you really sure about this?" Tsunade asked, her voice surprisingly gentle and hinted with worry. Her brown eyes, however, remained sharp and filled with authority as she gazed at the man standing in front of her.

"Absolutely, Hokage-sama" the man answered. "I believe it to be the quickest and most efficient learning experience. At least in teamwork and other issues. And I also believe that the rest can benefit from it as well, since-".

"No need to elaborate, I see your point..." the Godaime interrupted. "And I agree completely... It's just..." she regarded him once more, her elbows on her desk, her nose close to her clasped hands. "Intriguing" she finished.

"What is?" the man asked, seemingly puzzled.

Tsunade gaze hardened a little. "Frankly... there were probably other cases like that... Probably more than a few... yet you never asked for such things. Neither of your clansmen did, for that matter. Not like that".

The whole issue was, in essence, rather trivial, yet she was making it sound like it was some terrible decision. Then again, she needed to be sure.

"That was before" the man managed with some degree of well-hidden embarrassment. "I mean before all that, be-"

"Before Naruto... Is that what you meant?" she cut him off, a small, surprisingly sad, smile on her lips.

"You could say that..."

Short silence ensued.

"I have an urgent clan meeting that I need to attend shortly. May I come tomorrow to hear your decision?"

"No need. I've already decided. I shall grant you your request and will take care of the details depending on our current possibilities. I just hope all concerned parties will benefit from this as you say."

The man bowed slightly. "I am deeply grateful, Hokage-sama...".

"Yeah, yeah" Tsunade waved him off, already in her normal mood.

"I will take my leave then" the man bowed once more, then nodded in the general direction of Shizune and turned around, heading for the door.

His hand was already on the doorknob when Tsunade spoke again.

"One more thing".

The man turned around. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade was silent for a moment, her eyes closed. Then she opened them, her gaze hard again.

"Does she know?"

Her voice had told Hyuuga Hiashi that she knew the answer to that already.

**(* * *)**

**Soo... What could have Hiashi possibly requested? Read next chapter and find out!**

**Reviews and constructive criticism will be much appreciated!**


	3. New team

**Hello again... here's the first "real" chapter... four times longer than the author's notes and the prologue combined.**

**I feel obligated to warn you – next chapters will be even longer.**

**Disclaimer: the same as the previous one, since nothing's changed.**

******[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]******

**(* * *)**

"WHAT?!" Hyuuga Hanabi shrieked, her face a mix of angry and incredulous. "You're not serious! You can't be!"

Hiashi remained calm, even though he internally flinched at the sheer volume of voice his daughter managed to produce.

"It have already discussed this matter with the Hokage and she agreed to it. It is already done" he stated.

Hanabi eyes widened for a moment, clear with surprise. "What do you mean she agreed?" she asked. "You were the one who suggested it?" surprise was replaced with anger.

Hiashi closed his eyes and sighed slightly. He knew it would be like this.

"Yes, Hanabi. I was the one to suggest for you to be placed in another team. I believe it is the best option for you to improve in various areas."

"Improve?! I am already better than Hinata-neesama and better than... better than Neji..." Hiashi's brows furrowed at the mention of his deceased nephew. "...when he was my age. I am a chunnin" she said firmly. "Why would I need improvement from associating with some common village shinobi? The only reason Neji was in a common genin team was because he was in the branch family. And as for Hinata, she was just weak" she spat, quite loudly again.

Hiashi was sure rumors will be floating around the Hyuuga compound, what with her tone of voice. Hanabi could be rather respectful and well-mannered when she wanted to be. The life in the Hyuuga clan tended to do that to you. However, she was also a spitfire and quite arrogant inside. She was supposed to be the heir of the main family – above the status of Neji and more capable than Hinata. It was quite intriguing actually. She combined the birth rights of her sister and the talent and confidence of her cousin. In result, she was deprived of the inhibitions and doubts that plagued Hinata and had every right to expect a different place in life than Neji.

Hanabi wanted to be recognized as being worthy the position of the head of the clan, but elders and Hiashi himself had problems choosing between the siblings. He knew that deep inside Hanabi cared for her sister. It showed, even if Hanabi didn't notice it herself. At the same time he understood Hanabi's frustration with Hinata's progress. The shy Hyuuga girl came a long way and was getting better everyday in order to prove her worth. Granted, Hanabi was probably a better fighter at the moment, but Hinata continued to work hard. Such an improvement seemed impossible, but it happened over and over. At this rate...

He sighed once again. Now was not the time to think about this.

"What you say about your fighting skills is true. However, what you need to understand is that you lack in some... other areas. And in that regard Hinata is superior to you as was Neji. Far superior."

"Like what?"

"Your teamwork, for example, and your ninjutsu skills aside from our clan techniques" Hiashi stated plainly. "The training and education in our clan are, unfortunately, not very good for that" it was quite obvious actually, but the Hyuuga prefered to rely only on their own clan abilities and have never really tried to learn skills beyond that. Not before Naruto, like the Hokage put it. "You are a kunoichi of Konoha and I want you to be able to work for your village and protect it when needed, as well as you work for and protect your clan. That means you have to learn from other shinobi as well. And I will have you know that your easy chuunin promotion was mainly due to your heritage. Your leadership skills may not be as good as you think."

Hanabi went silent, although Hiashi attributed it more to her anger than patience and understanding.

"There's more to it" he continued. "You would be surprised how much you could learn from common chuunin team, even if they happen to be below average. What I want is for you to work with them and observe them. If you notice anything useful, that they can do, but you can't – learn it. Treat it as natural and crucial part of your training" he stopped for a moment. "I want you to meet your new team tomorrow morning in the Hokage's office. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father..."

"Very well, you may leave now".

Hanabi rose from the ground where she was sitting and calmly walked out of the room. Hiashi turned slightly to observe her. He very much doubted her obedience, but at least she couldn't openly refuse him. In Hyuuga household it was much closer to an actual order than to request.

(* * *)

Sarutobi Konohamaru, age 16, walked through the streets of Konoha alongside his team, heading for the Hokage's office located at the Ninja Academy. His inseparable blue scarf hanged from his neck, but was now much shorter, more reminiscent of Naruto's black bandana, though Konohamaru refused to make that particular connection, stating that he will walk his own way to the Hokage title and refused to mimic his mentor. However, the main reason why the scarf managed to stay above ground was due to Konohamaru measuring now almost 170 cm in height. Still, how he was able to comfortably wear both his scarf and the green vest that proved his chuunin status was a mystery.

"I wonder what kind of mission we will get this time" he mused aloud. "I hope it's not some crappy C-rank mission again..."

"As far as I remember, we were just summoned by the Hokage" Ebisu remarked, looking as always, one hand touching his glasses. "There was no information about any mission whatsoever. The Hokage might have dozens of other reasons to summon us. Some of which you surely remember, right Konohamaru?"

His comment was followed by a snigger from the rest of the team, aside from Konohamaru, resulting in the self-conceited chuunin throwing an angry side glance at his jounin team leader.

"It was not my fault!" he protested, loudly as usual. "Those bandits had been much more prepared than what we knew from the briefing!"

"It doesn't matter. You shouldn't let it surprise you. A ninja always needs to look-"

"Beneath the underneath, yeah, I know" Konohamaru finished, rolling his eyes. Honestly, how did Naruto manage to deal with this constant lecturing all these years?

"Still" Udon interjected. "We were getting mainly C-rank missions for some time now" he said matter-of-factly. He didn't change much from his genin years, except for his trademark snot, which seemed to disappear almost completely. "Konohamaru-kun can't be the reason for all of them. I wonder if it will always be like that."

Konohamaru shot him a glance as well, but Udon was right. After the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War there was much less pressure and conflict between the five great nations and the alliance still existed for the most part. Of course, the feudal lords were always in need of shinobi services (Konohamaru shivered at the thought of Tora the cat). The danger of missing-nins was constantly present as well. Still, the lack of great and dangerous spy and battle missions was evident. Konohamaru did not like that. He was happy, that Naruto's dream of peace was bearing fruit, but how was he supposed to become the Great Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure if he wasn't being given much chance to prove himself? That was not fair!

"Don't say it like that, Udon-kun!" Moegi countered firmly, scowling a little, which caused the rest of her team to sweat briefly. The girl's fierce temper was known by all three of them. "I am sure that there will be plenty of interesting missions" she argued. "We just need to wait for them" she told Konohamaru with a nervous smile on her face. "Right, Ebisu-sensei?"

Ebisu looked at Moegi from behind his sunglasses. Her most evident change, aside from the chuunin vest and clothing style – which greatly resembled Sakura's – was almost complete lack of the permanent blush she once sported. At least most of the time, as right now Moegi's cheeks were hinted pink as she continued to gaze at Konohamaru.

Ebisu was positive that Moegi would be quite content with the difficulty of their current missions if it weren't for Konohamaru's frustration with it. The jounin could easily see that the young kunoichi had a crush on the Hokage's grandson, but Konohamaru remained uninterested or, more probably, oblivious to it. He sighed. Why couldn't there be at least one genin team that graduated from the academy without love problems? He was so much out of his element here. He touched his glasses out of habit.

"That's very possible" he answered Moegi's question. "It's just that we have much more active duty shinobi than we currently need. But after some time, we will be simply getting less academy students and some of the current shinobi will retire, so there will be more work for the remaining ones. And I'm sure there will be more important missions as well. After all, there are many dangerous and evil people in the world that may be of shinobi heritage and are capable of using chakra, even if they are not shinobi themselves. So cheer up, Konohamaru!"

"Yeah, yeah, if you say so, sensei" the boy put his hands behind his head and looked at the blue sky above. Maybe they are right. Hopefully, he will have enough time before Naruto resigns from the position of the Sixth Hokage, he thought as the team continued on their course.

(* * *)

"All of this is a little sudden, but I believe it to be a very good idea. Actually, you should be thankful and I'm sure-" Tsunade was cut off by the knocking. "Come in!"

Ebisu's team walked in.

"We are here as you requested, Hokage-sama" Ebisu announced, but then he spotted that Tsunade was talking with – his eyes widened – the Hyuuga supposed-to-be heiress. This was unusual to say the least. "Errm... shall we wait outside?"

"Not at all. This matter concerns you as well. In fact, I have summoned you solely for this. I was just telling Hanabi that you will be happy to welcome her in your team" Tsunade explained, with her eyes closed and a false sweet smile that spelled disaster.

The girl in question turned to them and bowed slightly. "My name is Hyuuga Hanabi. Glad to make you acquaintance. I hope we can all work together, so please take good care of me."

She said all this without much trace of emotion, but when her face raised from the bow Konohomaru noticed the look of steel confidence, cold superiority as well as sheer displeasure. It was evident even to him.

He didn't know much about the Hyuuga clan and, from the looks of it, it was not as if they wanted others to know much about them. Naruto used to say that the Hyuugas were often misunderstood as cold and gloom people proud of their heritage and afraid of losing it, with only some exceptions like Neji or Hinata. But Naruto believed that they were good and caring people deep inside. Possibly very deep, though.

As Konohamaru looked at the young Hyuuga girl he immediately took note of her pale violet, almost white eyes – the testament to the kekkei genkai she possessed – and her long brown hair. She seemed shorter than him by several inches. She was dressed in a mix between what was, as he guessed, traditional Hyuuga clothing (most probably for males) and a standard chuunin gear and vest. Her face was cute, pretty even, but the final effect was spoiled by her stiff behavior as well as hard and fierce glare. He noticed that she was looking rather frail and delicate, even while wearing male clothing. He also immediately knew that it was very unlikely so.

He looked at Udon and Moegi. The boy seemed largely unfazed, aside from the slightly confused gaze, making him look even less focused than normal. His other teammate regarded the Hyuuga girl with a look full of suspicion and almost as cold as Hyuuga's, which surprised him a little. He turned back to look at Hanabi.

So this girl was supposed to go with them on their next mission? Why? That would mean that there will be even less work for each of them than usual. Meaning less chance for him to prove himself. Just perfect...

It seemed that his sensei agreed with him for once.

"If I may, Hokage-sama..." Ebisu said, obviously not seeing the wordless exchange between the teenagers.

"Yes?"

"Is our next mission really that difficult, for us to need help? Isn't Hanabi-san needed in her own team?" he asked.

Hanabi uttered a quiet hiss, that told Ebisu what he already knew – she wasn't happy with this and, judging from the Hyuuga general behaviour, his students won't be either.

"Next mission?" Tsunade repeated his words. "You seemed to misunderstood me."

Looks like it, Ebisu thought.

"Hanabi is currently not a part of any existing team."

Just as I predicted.

"And I didn't call you to give you a mission today".

Once again, just as I-Wait, what? "I don't understand Hokage-sama..." from the looks on their faces, the same could be said for his entire team.

The Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure stood up and walked to the front of her desk, where Hanabi was standing.

"Hanabi's father has asked for her to be included in one of the existing shinobi teams of her age for some time and I have chosen your team for this task" she said smiling, obviously amused by their shocked expressions. "Hiashi and I both believe that such an arrangement will be beneficial for the vital skills of all of you, including your teaching skills, Ebisu".

Said jounin started to sweat profusely.

"H-how long will it last?" he asked.

"That will depend on your progress, but for some reason" at this point Tsunade fixed her gaze on Konohamaru. "I think it will take a while" she must have remembered all of Konohamaru's pranks, mishaps, perverted looks and comments. The boy was sure of that.

"Don't worry, I'm certain you will all get along..." Hanabi hissed again, obviously in disagreement, but flinched when she felt Tsunade's hand on her shoulder.

"Now Hanabi-chan, be a good girl your father wants you to be" Tsunade growing fake smile was matching the increasing pressure she was putting on her shoulder. "And go to your new team" she pushed her not so gently, almost making her stumble and earning a glare.

"I know that you will need some time to get to know each other" Tsunade said once she was in her chair again. "So I give team Ebisu two days off. After that I expect all of you to meet me for your next mission. Dismissed."

Once they left the room Tsunade sighed and then grinned to herself. That went well, she has granted Hiashi's request and managed to leave all the problems with Ebisu and his team, taking the burden off her shoulders. Quite a good way to start the day. Now, how could she make it even better?

"Shizune! Bring me some sake!"

**(* * *)**

**With the combined forces of Tsunade and Hiashi all the main actors are assembled and the stage is set ^^.**

**Basic interactions and features of Hanabi and Moegi had been outlined as well (I hope).**

**If you want to find out whether our new team will hold together or spontaneously combust stay tuned for the next chapter of Flowers of Trees!**

**Reviews are most welcome.**


	4. Introductions

**Hello, again!**

**Firstly, thank you for your reviews and follows, they were very motivating! **

**Secondly, I decided to post this chapter earlier than I intended. This means that the next one will not appear for a week.**

**Now onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: you know the drill.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

"So, just as our Hokage said – we welcome you into our team, Hanabi!"

They were currently in a park not far away from the academy, shielded from the sun by the foliage – truly hidden by the leaves of trees.

"I hope we will all get along and that you all will be able to work hard for the sake of your teammates!" Ebisu continued.

True, he was not exactly delighted to have four students, two of them inherently troublesome, in his team. However, he was one of the best jounin teachers in the village and all of the Hokage's arguments were valid, more or less. It was his duty to make sure these young shinobi improved. Not to mention that his teaching skills may indeed have dulled. Something to do with him attending to general jounin duties the past few years.

In short: he accepted the challenge.

He went silent for a moment, regarding all four of his students to see their reactions. Udon was the most calm, probably even feeling safer with another teammate. He was the only one who seemed to be really listening to him now.

He looked at his most precious student: Konohamaru. The boy seemed a little peeved, but that was more likely due to their lack of missions than anything else. He was shooting curious glances towards Hanabi, obviously not knowing what to think of their current predicament.

Moegi, on the other hand, seemed to know enough, as she took great care in ignoring her new teammate, not looking at her at all.

Hanabi herself seemed collected, respectful and appeared to listen well, but Ebisu knew it was just a mask and poor one at that. The girl was obviously displeased with the turn of events.

"Now, let us start with the traditional get-to-know-each-other. I want each of you to tell us your likes, dislikes, dreams and hobbies. Who wants to start? How about you Hanabi?"

Hanabi looked at him with surprise. "Traditional talk? You mean shinobi tell things like that to people in their team?" she asked, voice full of doubt.

At this remark the remaining three chuunins, Moegi included, looked at her with disbelief. Ebisu took note that Hanabi said "people in their team" instead of "teammates". He did not sigh this time, however. It's not like it was unexpected...

"Yes, Hanabi, teammates do things like that" he assured her.

"Why?"

"To build trust and to learn about your teammates, their views and goals. It's the first step to understand them, which is essential for any advanced form of teamwork".

From the looks of it, Hanabi remained unconvinced.

"Perhaps it is best, to show you" he concluded. "Udon-kun, would you be so kind?"

"Yes, sensei" Udon answered and then turned to face all of his teammates. "My name is Sobaya Udon" he started. "I love math. I don't like dangerous and long missions. As for my hobbies I like solving math problems. I dream to be strong and cool shinobi like Uchiha Sasuke".

Moegi smiled at him and Konohamaru rolled his eyes – Udon's preferences known by heart to both of them. Hanabi, however, was slightly curious. Not about the math or the mission part, but about his admiration of the Uchiha shinobi. Was this boy capable of respect for high-class shinobi clans?

"Yeah, we know, Udon-kun" Moegi stated. "As for me, I am Hatsuko Moegi. I like my teammates" a quick side glance and a giggle clearly indicated which teammate she liked the most, although the hint was apparent only to Ebisu. "As for my dislikes, I hate people who do not care about their comrades" this comment was directed at Hanabi and just as subtle as the previous one. Thank Kami that the Hyuuga girl was slow on the uptake in social matters. Ebisu will have to work on Moegi, for all of their sakes. "My hobby is to hang out with my friends. My dream is to become beautiful, strong and wise kunoichi and a student of Sakura-senpai!"

"Very good, Moegi" Ebisu said. "Now, Konoha-"

"Alright!" the Sarutobi chuunin seemed pumped up. "I am Sarutobi Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage of Konohagakure!" he exclaimed loudly. "I like training, doing exciting missions, ramen and chocolate-covered bananas! I hate onions!" he was spewing each word at alarming speed with no sign of hesitation or slowing down. "My hobby is to develop new jutsus! My dream is to become the Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure and to protect my teammates, friends and all the villagers! My wish is to defeat Naruto-niichan and become great shinobi like him! My favourite phrase is 'There are no short cuts on the road to Hokage'. I believ-"

"That's quite enough, Konohamaru-kun, I think we all get it" Ebisu interrupted, sweatdropping.

Hanabi was flabbergasted. This chuunin was loud and obnoxious. Most of the things he said were either childish (like he could even become Hokage and why the Seventh?) or downright stupid. Nonetheless, the Hyuuga were supposed to be observant and the girl did notice a few interesting things.

Firstly, the boy, she didn't realize it before, was a Sarutobi and a grandson of a Hokage at that. Why not truly a noble by birth (and not by manners obviously), the noisy chuunin was no ordinary shinobi and she probably owed him more respect. Not that she was happy about that. Secondly, he seemed oddly determined and sure of himself, something that had more to do with belief than self-conceit. His words about the Hokage title and path were pretty accurate. He probably got this wisdom from someone else, but still he was not entirely naïve. Lastly, he mentioned Naruto. Did he mean Uzumaki Naruto? The Uzumaki Naruto?

Hanabi was not that well informed, but from what she knew the shinobi in question was the student of famous shinobis like Hatake Kakashi and the legendary sannin Jiraiya. And the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, even if she didn't know what that meant. Rumour had it that he was the son of the Fourth Hokage and was a powerful shinobi even during his genin years. She remembered that during the chuunin exams when she was seven he managed to actually beat her cousin, using some weird power she has never seen before. He didn't look anything close to impressive most of the time, but if all this was true, then such a shinobi commanded great respect, such that even Konohamaru admired him, but failed to show it properly (calling him niichan of all things). Bah! She heard that the Hokage herself held Naruto in high esteem.

It was than when she realized that all three of her teammates wanted to be like some powerful and renowned shinobi. Uchiha Sasuke. Haruno Sakura. And Uzumaki Naruto. Those names could be heard even inside the walls of the Hyuuga compound. Those three were trained by the legendary sannin, right? Could she be looking at the next generation of sannin in making?

Ridiculous!

"See, Hanabi? Just like that. It's your turn now!" Hanabi was snapped out of her reverie and noticed that all four of them were looking at her. She frowned.

Hanabi was very much used to people looking at her, being candidate for the head of the clan and all. At the moment she should just bask in the attention. But she didn't, she felt nervous instead. Probably something to do with the success pressure that was following her more and more lately.

She should just get it over with. If they could do it, then so could she. No big deal. She straightened herself and then bowed slightly.

"My name is Hyuuga Hanabi" she started in a humble, but a little automatic voice. "A member of the main family of the Hyuuga clan and a chuunin of Konohagakure" now came the likes and dislikes part, right? "I like to train... with my father" she hesitated for a moment her voice changing visibly. "I also like bananas and milk" and not much else, she added in her thoughts. "I dislike mitsuba... and people who do not know their place, are obnoxious and disrespectful" and my sister, and my father, and my clan. "My hobby is to train and hone my skills. My dream is to..." she stopped abruptly.

What were her dreams? To become the head of the clan? To prove herself to her father? For some reason she didn't want to tell them that. They knew it by now, right? Aside from that, did she even have any other dreams? "My dream... is to become a valuable kunoichi to the village of Konohagakure" she finished lamely. Even she knew that it was lame.

Ebisu either didn't notice or didn't care. "Very good, Hanabi" he said, much to her surprise. Why would he want to praise her for something like that when her performance was kind of poor? He obviously wouldn't.

"Now that we're done with it, it's time to move to th-"

"Oi, oi, aren't you forgetting something, sensei?" Konohamaru sneered.

"That's right! The teachers are supposed to do the introduction too" Moegi explained, smirking as well.

"Yeah, it is important that Hanabi knows about Ebisu-sensei as well" Udon agreed, even he was sporting a small smile.

"Ah, you're right!" Ebisu admitted, eyebrow twitching. Damn them! He hoped that he will be able to weasel out of this. Why his students couldn't be this observant during missions?

"Well then, my name is Hayakawa Ebisu, I'm a jounin and elite teacher of Konohagakure. I like kamaboko and fried crab and I dislike carrots and unruly kids" he glanced meaningfully at Konohamaru, who pretended he didn't hear him. "My hobby is to raise elite ninjas. I wish to face other shinobi tutors throughout the world!" he finished.

Hanabi was confused. They were all weird, she wondered how all them, except Ebisu, could be chuunins. Did they have any good points? Even their passionate determination didn't quite impress the Hyuuga girl, it was no different from recklessness that could very much be the reason for their deaths in action.

"Now, since we have two days off I would like for us to have some team training tomorrow. Meet me at 6 o'clock at the third training grounds! That's it for today, team!"

Udon, Moegi and Konohamaru blinked at once and then let out a collective "WHAT?!"

(* * *)

"So what do you think of Hanabi-san?" Udon asked.

He, Moegi and Konohamaru were walking back through the streets of Konoha. Konohamaru eyed him briefly. It was difficult whether he was referring to the girl by Hanabi-san out of respect or fear of future quarrels. Probably the latter, if their experience from dealing with Moegi and Sakura were anything to go by.

"I don't like her! She only sees the top of her nose!" Moegi responded acridly. "She doesn't care for her teammates as long as they don't get in her way! I wish her father didn't request for her to be placed in our team."

"It was Tsuanade-baachan who chose our team, remember?" Konohamaru interjected. "But I agree, that girl seriously needs to unwind. I wonder if all Hyuugas are like that – respect and manners along with arrogance and pride."

"Still, we are teammates now" Udon stated. "We need to work together. And I don't mind her helping..."

"Help? Bah! I wonder if she can do anything aside from her fancy eyes and taijutsu" Moegi was still unconvinced.

Konohamaru frowned. He was not too happy with this situation either, but he had a feeling that the Hyuuga girl possessed a few considerable shinobi skills. Not that he was afraid of losing to her...

"I don't know, Moegi, she was trained by the Hyuuga clan head. She might be good actually..."

"I don't think so" Moegi responded, clearly offended that Konohamaru defended the girl. "Besides, even if she was good, she would probably do things on her own. I bet she has poor teamwork."

"We shouldn't underestimate her, I think we should give her a chance."

"Hmpf!"

"Umm... How about some dango? My treat" Udon had to pacify Moegi before the argument grows and he has to deal with both of them.

The girl eyed him suspiciously. Could she have seen right through him?

"Fine!" she responded and started to walk towards the dango shop, her teammates turning to follow her. "But mark my words! We will all regret the moment this girl was put in our team!"

(* * *)

Hanabi walked through the corridors of the Hyuuga compound, deep in her thoughts, her mind still on her new team. They were so... undisciplined, loud, unimpressive and irresponsible. And they were still under tutelage of a jounin. Why they were not having their own missions? They were chuunins for Kami's sake! But then again, so was she, yet she did mission only in the company of her Hyuuga clansmen.

She sighed. Did father really want for her to be a part of some team? And that team in particular?

As on cue, one of the doors she was just about to pass on her way to her room slid open.

"Hanabi."

She stopped abruptly and then turned around and, of course, she saw Hyuuga Hiashi sitting inside. "Yes, father?"

"I need to speak with you" he responded calmly, eyes closed as if meditating.

Hanabi nodded and moment later she was sitting in front of Hiashi.

"You're back quickly. How was your first day with your new team?"

So that's what he wanted to talk about. Obviously.

"Not very good. I was assigned to team led by Hayakawa Ebisu" she explained.

Hiashi's eyes opened. He though for a moment, recollecting what he knew about Ebisu.

"Then I take it that one of your teammates is a Sarutobi?"

Hanabi perked at that. Her father must be really well-informed to know about such details.

"Yes, father."

"What do you mean that it wasn't very good?"

Hanabi closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself. She couldn't do outbursts like the one yesterday too often. She didn't want to truly anger father after all.

"Well, we didn't do much and we were given two days off by the Hokage, so we could get to know each other. We did this peculiar tradition of telling others your dreams and dislikes" she paused, waiting for Hiashi to admit the peculiarity of it, but it never came.

"I understand. Continue."

"We were ordered to meet tomorrow for training. That's all" she finished.

Hiashi regarded her for a moment. "That's not a busy day, but it's typical for new teams" he paused for a moment. "You didn't mention your teammates."

"What's there to mention?" Hanabi shot back. "They are stupid kids with no sense of honour and discipline. They all admire great shinobi, but fail to show proper respect!" she ranted. "Even this Sarutobi boy... No, especially him! He is a goofy idiot, not befitting the rank of a genin, much alone chuunin!"

Hiashi observed her calmly. It was true to some extent. Sarutobi kid was similar to Uzumaki, even learned from him. He was bound to be carefree and idiotic. Maybe even perverted. But that also meant he was dedicated, loyal and hard-working when needed. From what he heard the boy was able to defeat one of the Peins with the rasengan. That particular rumour was probably only half-true. Still, the young Sarutobi seemed to know by heart things that will be beneficial to Hanabi. And Ebisu is known as a great tutor. The Hokage did a good job.

"I didn't ask for this team specifically, but I'm glad with this arrangement."

"What?" Hanabi was on her feet now. Hiashi was sure that she was going to throw one of her little tantrums, but Hanabi seemed to be driven by fear rather than anger. "You can't be serious!"

Hiashi sighed. This felt like déjà vu and he could already feel the approaching headache. "If you thought that I will go to the Hokage and withdraw my request, then you were wrong" he stated calmly. "It would make us look unreliable."

"Father, do you really think that I can improve by being surrounded by them?"

"And you don't?"

"Of course not!"

The corner of Hiashi's lips lifted upwards in small, but dangerous smile.

"Let's make a deal. If you return tomorrow from your training and again tell me that you truly think so, then I will have you removed from this team and will not ask for another one" he offered. "Do you agree?"

Hanabi hesitated, feeling a foreboding. Her father seemed more sure of himself than she felt herself.

"Yes."

"Then we have a deal" he stated matter-of-factly. "I think you should go to sleep. It seems you have a busy day ahead of you."

"Yes, father."

When she left Hiashi sighed again. If he hadn't been Hanabi's father, he might not have believed that she used to be modest, respectful and, most of all, quiet. That, however, was when Hinata was still a disappointment and a disgrace to the clan while Hanabi was a heiress-to-be convinced of her future and pampered all the time. When her position in the clan was questioned, her difficult, but comfortable life was turned upside down. This resulted in spoiled and whimsical girl who demanded, quite loudly, her old place in the clan.

He could only hope that her team experience will help her go back to her old self, if only a little. It was his fault anyway. And not to mention that her future might take another hit soon.

And all of this was his fault.

(* * *)

Hanabi was in her bed, thinking about her team, her father, her clan... and by extension, about herself. Was her father right? Even if he was, this still will be troublesome, boring and kind of offensive experience. What did she do to deserve all this?

Flooded by her gloomy thoughts, she fallen into a restless slumber.

(* * *)

"Good morning, team!" Ebisu announced happily.

"Good morning..." Udon answered, nowhere near as cheerful. If normally drowsy, he seemed to be sleeping now, leaning on one of the three stakes, his snot replaced with drool hanging from his mouth.

"Good..." a long and undisturbed yawn. "...morning-sensei" Moegi was not much better than him.

"Hmpf!" Konohamaru snorted from his position, sitting with his legs crossed on top of the stake next to Udon. He was faring considerably better than his friends, enough to be actually angry. It was obvious what he thought of the training at his hour.

"Good morning, sensei" Hanabi said slowly and bowed slightly, clearly the most awake of them all. It's not like training early in the morning was new to her. It was just those three morons were a disappointment. Yet, she smiled on the inside.

Her bet with her father was looking pretty good so far.

"So... what do we do now, sensei?" from the tone of his voice it was evident that Konohamaru hoped his stupid teacher had a good reason for such morning training session.

"Ah... just a little exercise I wanted all of you to do" he paused until he knew he had all of their attention. "You're task will be to obtain two of this bells" he produced said items from his vest. "The exercise is over as soon as you get both of them."

"Why do we need to do such a stupid exercise?" Konohamaru complained.

Hanabi couldn't agree more.

"This will be a great teamwork experience and I think it is essential for all you to understand how important the teamwork is. Especially for Hanabi, since-"

"With all due respect, sensei" Hanabi interrupted him, which was so out of place that all of them glanced at her. Ebisu raised his eyebrow. "You can't expect me to work with them" she gestured to the three chuunins. "Besides, my performance is best when I'm on my own. All they need to do is not get in my way and I'm sur-"

"That's it!" it was Moegi's turn to interrupt. She walked – no, stomped – towards the Hyuuga girl.

"Do you think you're better than all of us? You have no right to talk about us like that!" she was practically seething with anger, making Udon step back in fear.

Hanabi, on the other hand, didn't look afraid at all. "Of course I do! Why would I be considered inferior to some weak excuse of a chuunin like you?"

Moegi gritted her teeth.

"I've had enough of this!" she assumed fighting stance. "Would you like to prove that little statement, little missy?"

"What?" Hanabi was visibly disturbed for the first time, her expression matching that of Moegi. "You dare to question my skills?"

"Umm... girls" Udon tried to stop them, but they didn't seem to notice.

"You need to ask? Seems like there are things you can't get or see even with those eyes of yours, huh? " Moegi taunted.

Hanabi hissed. Udon gulped. Konohamaru cursed under his breath.

And Ebisu just smiled.

"All right..." Hanabi shifted, one open-palmed hand in front of her in a typical Hyuuga fighting pose. "I'll show you. Ready when you-"

She was interrupted yet again, swinging her body to the side, watching as two shurikens passed her by. She balanced back just as Moegi charged at her.

She slashed at Hanabi with a kunai, but the other girl dodged and quickly countered with a palm strike from above. Without the aid of the Byakugan, the potential of the attack was limited. Still, Moegi hit the ground painfully.

Hanabi sneered.

"What's the matter? Needing cheap tricks to win?" she mocked, the familiar feeling of accomplishment washing through her. She needed that one. "Not good enough to fight fair?"

Poof.

The white smoke revealed a log instead of Moegi.

Kawarimi no jutsu? thought Hanabi. When did she...

"Fight fair?" she heard Moegi's voice behind herself. She turned and saw that the girl was right behind her, aiming at her with a right hook. "We are shinobi! We don't fight fair!"

Hanabi moved purely on instinct. She rotated, grabbed her opponent in mid-air and intended to throw her to the ground once more. Moegi, however, landed on her feet and quickly somersaulted back, dashing towards Hanabi as soon as she touched the ground and going for a roundhouse kick.

But Hanabi had already activated her Byakugan. She ducked under Moegi's kick and hit her flat in the stomach with the Juuken, sending her flying a few feet backwards in a cloud of dust.

"Aww!" Moegi whined, when she attempted to stand.

"Who's next?" Hanabi asked, back in her stance, superiority sparkling in her eyes.

Konohamaru jumped down from his stake. "Told you so..." he shot in the direction of Moegi and the turned back to Hanabi. "And you, what do you think you're doing!?" he barked at her.

"She got what she deserved" Hanabi shot back, eyes narrowing. "If you want to be next, then shut up and-" she stopped abruptly, eyes-widening.

"Hanabi-san!" Udon shouted, losing his calm as well, but then noticed that Hanabi turned to the side and deactivated her Byakugan. Before he could turn himself he heard a new voice.

"Hey! Is that how teammates are supposed to treat each other?"

All of them turned to look in the same direction as Hanabi just in time to see two figures land a few meters away from them.

Hanabi was speechless, staring at the newcomers as they started to walk in their direction. They looked like... No, they couldn't be...

"Naruto-niichan!"

"Sakura-senpai?"

They were.

"Hey, Konohamaru!" greeted the blonde, orange-wearing shinobi, with a smile so wide, that it couldn't possibly be healthy.

"Hello, Moegi, Ebisu-sensei" the pink-haired kunoichi answered.

"What are you doing here?" Konohamaru asked puzzled. He knew that this training ground was used by Team 7 frequently, but he was sure that his stupid teacher reserved it for them today.

"That's what we should be asking you, don't ya think?" Naruto shot back, though he continued to smile.

They stopped just a feet or two away from them. Naruto glanced at each of them.

When he looked at Hanabi the girl felt that it was the best moment to introduce herself.

"I am Hyuuga Hanabi of the Hyuuga clan" she said, her voice a little higher and more hasty than she intended. "I take that you are the Great Uzumaki Naruto" she continued. "It's an honour to make you acquaintance" she bowed at the end.

"You're Hinata's little sister, right?" Naruto asked, his smile fading a little. That was not the response she expected.

"Yes..." she admitted hesitantly. It was always "Hanabi – Hinata's little sister". Never "Hinata – Hanabi's older one". Not anymore.

"I see..." Naruto glanced at Ebisu. "It makes sense now."

"Of course it does" Sakura smacked his head from above gently enough to be considered almost affectionate. "I told you so from the beginning..."

"Umm... Sakura-san" Udon interjected. "Sorry to interrupt, but we are in the middle of the training and we would like to use your training ground..."

At this Sakura smiled and Naruto openly laughed. Udon, Moegi and Hanabi were confused. Konohamaru, on the other hand, started to sweat.

If he was right, then they were in a serious trouble.

"Of course you do!" Sakura admitted. "That's why we're here for, right Ebisu-sensei?" she asked.

Ebisu smiled back and swinged his arm. A jingle was heard for a moment and died down as soon as both shinobi caught what Ebisu threw at them.

"No way!" Moegi exclaimed in panic. Udon had his mouth open. Hanabi blinked. And Konohamaru gritted his teeth.

"So? Are you ready?" Sakura asked, putting on her famous gloves.

"Let's get this started!" Naruto shouted, kunai in his hand.

Everytime one of the two shinobi moved, the bells on their waists jingled in mockery.

They were in a very serious trouble.

**(* * *)**

**Sooo... here we have a formal introduction, Hiashi' bet, Moegi getting her ass kicked, Hanabi acting like... well... arrogant Hyuuga prodigy, an announcement of the bell test, a reference to The Mummy (1999 movie) and over 4000 words.**

**So far the interactions between Hanabi and Konohamaru are close to zero and the next two chapters are mostly fighting chapters, so not very much chance for romance... but be patient.**

**Rate and review!**


	5. The bell test

**Back, as promised and thank you for your feedback!**

**I hope you are prepared for over 5000 words, because that's exactly what you have here.**

**I hope you'll like it!**

**Disclaimer: different chapter, same story.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Naruto asked, voice amused. "For us to run and hide? I don't run and straightforward hiding is really not my style!"

Konohamaru discreetly placed his hand on the ninja pouch on his waist.

Even he knew the gravity of the situation. Yes, he was a reckless loudmouth and would usually just charge right into the battle. But Naruto-niichan was just like him. He couldn't beat him at his own game. They needed to do this carefully and combine their forces.

He glanced to the side. The chances of four of them working together were low. Heck, even he, Moegi and Udon probably couldn't. They mostly just attacked together, with him trying to get the attention of the enemy. They were not really that good at planned teamwork. And as for Hanabi, he very much doubted she could fight alongside Udon, much alone him. Or Moegi.

This was bad.

"Hayakawa-sensei" Konohamaru was snapped out of his reverie when Hanabi spoke.

"Yes, Hanabi?"

"What happens if we can't get the bells?"

"Then you won't be ready to go for missions as a team" Ebisu explained. "You will continue this test until you get it right."

Hanabi frowned at that for a moment.

"I see I have no other choice. Very well then..."

She dropped into Hyuuga fighting stance.

"No hard feelings Uzumaki-san, Haruno-san" she activated her Byakugan. "I will be taking those bells. And you three" Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon perked at that. "Don't get in my way!"

"What?" Moegi barked. "Can you not understand the situation here? There's no time for that!"

"Moegi is right, Hanabi-san, you can't fight on your own."

"I already told you, I'm better off fighting on my own. That's my teamwork."

Moegi gritted her teeth, Udon blinked, Konohamaru growled, Ebisu facepalmed and Sakura didn't have any reaction whatsoever.

And Naruto just smiled. His eyes, literally sparkling with mirth.

"My, my. That's some big words" he started, making Hanabi focus on him. "Is it the official Hyuuga view or just your own? Either way, you wanna prove it, little girl? If you can, that is" he teased.

Not half a second later she was a foot away from him, stomping on the ground, balance shifting forward and her palm swishing through the air where he should have been.

But instead of hearing the sound of impacting flesh, all she could hear was the jingling of the bells while he jumped into the air, landing on a tree branch.

"Do you really think I will be caught this easily? C'mon, you have to work for it."

She jumped after him, but he quickly hopped sideways to another branch. She bounced from the first tree and followed him, snapping the branch he was standing on with her Juuken.

Konohamaru cursed under his breath. What was she doing? He knew she was proud, but he also thought she was calm. Was it really this easy to rile her up with those insults? No matter how strong she was, she didn't stand a chance against a prankster like Naruto, not on her own.

"Kuso!" he exclaimed and then started to follow them through the trees.

"Konohamaru-kun!" Moegi shouted after him. She and Udon intended to run after him, but then they noticed a shadow beneath their feet.

"SHANNARO!"

The hair on the back of their necks stood up and they jumped back clumsily, just in time, as Sakura fell from the sky, her fist sinking into the ground.

The rustling of leaves, cries of frightened birds and even cracking of the earth were muffled by the booming explosion.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sakura asked through the dust and flying debris. "There's four of you and two of us, so why not play in pairs?"

She was standing in the center of ten feet wide and three feet deep crater, the cracks making it look like a scar on the face of the earth,

"I suggest we leave Naruto, Hanabi and Konohamaru to themselves and play on our own. Any objections?"

They had plenty, but neither of them was stupid enough to say it aloud.

(* * *)

"HAA!" Hanabi shouted, when Naruto backed up right into a tree trunk. She was sure she got him this time.

No such luck.

The blond shinobi jumped in place, turning in the air and sticking to the bark above with chakra.

"Tch" she thrust her palm upwards, but her hand was still two feet away from the target when Naruto detached from the tree and fell a little to her right. She reacted just in time in order to dodge a leg sweep. Not losing her cool, she rotated in the air and thrust with both palms as he stood up, hitting him right in the stomach.

Naruto flew into another tree and then fell to the ground.

"How's that?" she asked. She was a little out of breath, but remained calm. She couldn't lose focus until she had the bell in her hand and there was the other one.

"Not bad" she heard from behind her, she turned immediately.

The other Naruto landed on the branch, the bell jingling, a few trees away from her and casually leaned on the bark.

"Definitely better than what I could do when I was your age" he said smiling. "I was really a hot head. Much more than I am now, but I see you're not so bad yourself in this aspect."

Hanabi was flabbergasted once again.

"How is it possible?" she asked to no-one in particular, looking at both Narutos until...

Poof.

The one on the ground vanished.

"A shadow clone, of course" Naruto explained, smile widening.

"I know that!" she barked back at him. "I mean when did you create it? I've been monitoring your chakra network the whole time. Aside from the tree walking and quick jumps you didn't use your chakra at all!"

"Do you really expect me to reveal my secret? I'm your enemy, you know" he asked. "But for your information, I created it before the entire fight" he explained. "Of course I stayed outside of your Byakugan range. Fifty meters seem to be your basic range. Just like Neji's."

She bit her lip. His observation was correct. Still...

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"You didn't. Do you expect to always get full mission information during briefing? C'mon not even I was that naïve..."

"So you're saying that this is a mission and I am supposed to defeat you even under such circumstances?"

"Who knows?" he remarked, his cheek resting on his hand. "Maybe you're supposed to beat me?" he looked around. "Maybe you're supposed to get the bell however you can?" the said item jingled a little. "Maybe you're supposed to recognize your defeat and run while you still can" he wondered, then turned back at her, eyes sharp and no smile. "But you're not going to do that, right?" he smirked in a very feral way. "Oh and one piece of advice. You've been using much more chakra than me. And you have much less chakra than me to begin with. You might wanna use it a little more carefully."

He was right. She should use less chakra and more tools. And keep her best moves ready, waiting for the right time.

She reached into her pouch and threw three kunais.

Her opponent crouched and jumped to the side. She was about to move, but before she could do anything, she noticed a few shurikens with her Byakugan. Flying right at Naruto.

Said shinobi flinched a little, but managed to pull out a kunai and block the incoming projectiles. Then another kunai embedded itself into a tree a feet next to him.

Hanabi noticed, that the kunai had a burning paper tag attached to it.

A large explosion ensued.

She could see through the dust that Naruto jumped several meters in the air, sticking to the branch above, unscathed. She also could now see the other attacker.

Damn Sarutobi has followed her, of course, but she thought she'd lost him on the way. Guess he had found them.

A moment later Konohamaru landed good four feet away from her. Naruto jumped down from the tree. He was now facing both chuunins.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto beamed. "How nice of you to join the party!"

"Yeah" the boy answered, then turned to look at Hanabi. "Did you dispel the shadow clone, already?"

He noticed that she was mostly calm, but there were signs showing that she was on the edge.

"You knew he was a shadow clone?" she asked back.

"Of course. Sakura hit him so lightly back then. She didn't want to dispel the jutsu."

"How rude!" Naruto interrupted. "Sakura's my girlfriend, you know!" he explained with a little pout. "She just doesn't really want to hurt me. The shadow clone had nothing to do with this."

"Yeah, right..." Konohamaru rolled his eyes.

Hanabi had enough. Was it a fight or a chit-chat over coffee?

"I told you to not get in my way" she shot at Konohamaru, but he chuckled in response.

"I don't intend to, honest" he assured her.

She was surprised. Even Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

"So you finally realized that you can't be of any help to me, is that it?" she asked, completely sure of herself.

"Hell no!" he shouted back. "Don't think I consider myself inferior to you or anything! I don't care how cool or important your clan is, assuming it is at all" he said.

She was shocked.

"You want to fight on your own? Fine by me!" he continued. "I don't think we would be able to beat Naruto even when fighting together."

He turned away from her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll give you three minutes to fight him" he gestured towards Naruto. "After that I get my chance to defeat him."

He was very much risking her anger, but a part of her personality was similar to Moegi's and she was very proud. If his assumptions were right, then her answer should be...

"Fine! I'll just finish it in three minutes!"

He smiled to himself. Jackpot!

"Oi, oi" Naruto said gloomily, snapping their attention back to him. "Did you not hear what Konohamaru just said?" he asked, eyes boring into Hanabi.

She was about to lash out at him, but stopped when she saw Naruto crossing his fingers in his trademark handseal.

"I used to create thousands of shadow clones at once. You underestimate me, little girl" he said darkly.

Poof.

With the Byakugan Hanabi could see eleven sources of his chakra. That meant ten clones.

"You underestimate me greatly" the Naruto in the center said. "Three minutes or thirty minutes. You don't stand a chance either way."

And then ten Narutos charged at them.

(* * *)

"This is not good" Moegi stated the obvious through her laboured breathing.

"Yeah, tell me about it" Udon agreed, sporting a few cuts on his arms and one on his cheek. All done by flying debris alone.

They were sitting in a tree, deep in the forest, whispering quietly and looking away from each other, monitoring both directions.

They tried. They really did. They threw kunais and shurikens and even one exploding tag.

But to no avail.

Sakura was very good at dodging their attacks and understanding their movements. In the end they couldn't hit her even once.

After a while they used one smoke bomb to escape.

"I don't get it" Moegi announced in a hushed whisper. "Sakura-senpai should have found us easily. It's as if she wanted for us to escape."

"Maybe she did" Udon whispered back.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, we still have quite a few exploding tags and smoke bombs. We could use the bunshin no jutsu or kawarimi, I could even prepare some genjutsu and you could use your summoning scrolls."

"That won't help us. You've seen how she'd been evading all of our attacks."

"That's exactly what I mean" he replied while leaning on the tree. "We don't stand a chance without Konohamaru. He can make very good diversions and he has the most jutsus of all of us. Hanabi included."

"Konohamaru-kun isn't here" Moegi reminded him. "He ran after Naruto and little Miss Perfect" she spat.

Udon wasn't exactly sure why Moegi was so harsh towards Hanabi. Yes, they had this little fight, but it was the fight that happened because of Moegi and Hanabi's attitude, no the other way around.

He might not be very fast or strong. But he was not stupid. He knew that Moegi nursed some feelings toward his other teammate. Not that he was happy about that, since he liked Moegi himself. Konohamaru didn't seem interested and her crush was just that – a crush. Still, he could understand her being wary of the Hyuuga kunoichi.

But so much jealousy and anger? From what he could see Konohamaru wasn't interested in Hanabi and Hanabi was definitely not interested in Konohamaru. Maybe it was some woman intuition thing?

He shouldn't be thinking about it know. They had other problems. Then again, Hanabi and Moegi cooperating with each other would solve a few.

"Yeah, I know, but that's just the thing. We need to find Konohamaru and then we can come up with a plan to attack Sakura" he explained.

"And then Naruto will just join Sakura-senpai. We can't beat her 2-on-1. What makes you think we can bet them 3-on-2?" she reminded him.

"Then we need to get Konohamaru to join us without Naruto joining Sakura. Maybe Hanabi can fend Naruto off for some time."

He went silent for a moment, listening for voices sounds them. Then he continued. "It's not much, but I think it's our best shot. We get Konohamaru and then come at Sakura with all we've got."

"I see" Moegi mulled it over for a second. "Alright, let's do this!"

"That's a sound plan" they flinched and simultaneously turned, only to see the pink-haired kunoichi sitting on their branch along with them. "But you shouldn't let your enemy hear it" she said smiling.

(* * *)

Damn, Konohamaru thought, tossing one of his smoke bombs and then threw several shurikens at where two of Naruto clones were standing. He succeeded and both clones disappeared.

He jumped quietly, aiming for a branch nearby.

He was close when he saw a silhouette in the smoke. A clone aiming for him with a kick. With no way to manoeuvre in mid-air, Konohamaru crossed his arms in front of his face in an attempt to block it.

The power of the kick hurled him into the ground. But he stood up quickly.

"Ouch!" he moaned. "No fair! How could you find me in the smoke?"

"Easy" the clone replied. "The clones pass their experiences back to the remaining clones when dispelled" he didn't know that. "You destroying one of my clones is like telling me where you are."

Well, that's convenient, Konohamaru thought.

"Why are you attacking me anyway? I said I'll wait until you defeat Hanabi."

"Oh c'mon, not you too" the clone groaned. "I'm your enemy, you now. I will attack you whenever I want to."

"If you say so" Konohamaru crossed his fingers as well. "Then I'm not going to hold back."

Meanwhile, Hanabi has been dodging attacks from three clones at once. The other two were just standing there, keeping their eyes on her, observing her every move.

She didn't like that. It felt like he was learning her fighting style, which was bad news for her. And dodging their attacks was becoming difficult.

Her battling style was based on quick and precise movements, flowing pirouettes, graceful steps and flowing attacks. Like a ballet.

But the clones tried to keep a safe distance. If this will go on, she will have to start blocking and then her dance will stop and she will lose.

She had to go all out. Now.

She threw her only smoke bomb into the ground. All clones, including the observing ones, reacted immediately. In half a second there was a dozen of sharp objects flying at her from multiple directions.

But Hanabi was prepared. She jumped into the air and when at the peak of her jump, she threw two kunais in two completely different directions. Both of the clones she aimed at dodged them.

One kunai, however, had an exploding tag attached to it.

BOOM!

The poor clone disappeared and the explosion gave her even more place to hide. She took note of the positions of all remaining clones and then charged outside of the smoke.

In an instant three clones surrounded her from left, right and behind, getting closer.

Exactly where she wanted them.

Hakkeshou Kaiten, she thought while she started spinning, releasing her chakra all around her.

The clones were caught in her whirl and bounced away where they disappeared.

Hanabi quickly stopped her rotation and turned around on her heel, just in time to Juuken the last clone in the stomach.

She turned once again and faced the real Naruto, who was just about to punch her in the face.

But she was already in position for her divination.

"Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!" she ducked under Naruto's fist. "Ni shou!" she plunged two fingers into his chakra points.

She shifted her position a little.

"Yon shou!" two more strikes.

Another shift.

"Hachi shou!" eight chakra points were closed now.

She turned in place, shifting all the time, dealing eight more strikes.

"Juuroku shou!"

Now was the problem. She could probably deal 32 strikes, but more? Her movements were slower than what they should have been. Her accuracy was not the best as well, she doubted she closed every tenketsu she aimed at.

And she probably couldn't continue beyond 32 points. 40 maybe. After that her stance would break. And beyond 45 she didn't really know what points to aim for.

How did cousin Neji do it so perfectly when he was twelve?

She stomped forward in order to shorten the distance to Naruto, who stumbled back. She will close 16 more tenkestsus and then she would stop. That should be enough.

She aimed for Naruto's chakra pathway and stroke.

One, two, free, four. That's 20.

Jab! Thud! Slam! Thunk! 24.

Next was aimed slightly above his lung, another directly in the liver and the next one wa-

She stopped abruptly, stumbling a little and then she noticed that Naruto managed to grasp her right hand.

Before she could question the possibility of it happening, she felt a strong tug and started to fall down.

Straight into Naruto's raising knee.

The power of the blow forced the air out of her lungs, making her mind dizzy. So dizzy, that the next strike was feeling much lighter, but must have been just as strong, seeing as it made her fly several meters back, kicking a cloud of dust.

"Well, that was refreshing" she heard him speak.

The pain in her gut was killing her, making it difficult to stand up.

"I'll admit, that jutsu is very powerful weapon for a chuunin. You can beat most enemies, no matter how much they train" he told her. "And you can fend off multiple foes with your kaiten. But..." ohh... the dreaded "but" statement.

"But are those skills the reason you are a chuunin?" he asked. "No... those are the skills of a genin. The chuunins are those who command you to use them. Don't get me wrong..." she was now standing, clutching her stomach, steady enough to look at him. "Your tactical skills are not so bad... but you cannot beat me on your own. Maybe you should try to use the skills of your allies a little more?"

"Shut up!" she breathed out. "If it was perfected, then you wouldn't be standing anymore! That's the Konoha strongest taijutsu!"

Naruto frowned at that.

"I received this jutsu once and stood up" she blinked, remembering watching him fight cousin Neji. Now she noticed that Naruto was hurt, his chakra system somewhat affected... but aside from that he looked fine. It was true that she dealt only 26 strikes... but still. How did he do that?

"And as for this being the Konoha's strongest taijutsu" Naruto continued. "I disagree."

"What?"

"You don't believe me, do you?" he smirked. "Then I will show you something good."

He closed his eyes. That was good moment to strike, even if she was weakened. She reached for her pouch, but before she could pull out a single shuriken, her eyes noticed something weird.

The space around Naruto, the earth, the air, the trees, started to move. It was like watching the ground on a sunny day. The air started to wave and curl in bizarre ways. And then all of this flow started to move towards Naruto.

It wasn't chakra, her eyes gave it no colour, but she was sure she wouldn't be able to see it without her Byakugan activated. What was that?

She kept watching, secretly fascinated, as the coils started to mix with Naruto's chakra. Exactly as if he was moulding chakra.

Then she saw a flash and new chakra flared inside Naruto. It was definitely chakra, as it was coloured, but it was a colour she has never seen before and couldn't name it. It looked as if the colour changed while it was flowing. And it was bright. Well, maybe bright was not the correct word, but it made her squint her eyes, like she was forced to shield from the sun.

And then the brightness faded. The strange chakra washed over Naruto's chakra network, even through the few parts that she supposedly closed with her attack. Naruto opened his eyes.

She gasped.

They were very different. They were now orange, almost yellow in colour, instead of their usual clear blue. The pupils also changed, resembling horizontal rectangles. The skin around they eyes was orange as well. His eyes reminded Hanabi of something.

"This is Sage mode, I learned it from the toads on the Myoubokuzan" that's right! His eyes were just like those of a toad! A little gross though...

Naruto didn't say it, but she could feel that this skill was something rare, unique even. Somehow she could now understand why he was respected so much. He was standing there, silent and firm. His whole form radiating power, that she could feel even with her eyes closed. His eyes were serious and determined.

Hanabi would never admit it aloud, but something stirred inside of her as fear raised its ugly head. He was not producing any killer intent, yet she was afraid.

"And this" Naruto dropped into fighting stance. "Is Frog Kumite!" he charged at her.

She was still in pain and afraid, but her pride forced her to keep fighting. She lunged, attacking him with her Juuken.

It took her several seconds to notice that something was wrong.

She couldn't hit him and it was different from before. Her attacks were missing by a hair's breadth, doing no damage. He was dancing fluidly and she realized some of his moves should put him in a losing position, but they didn't. It shouldn't be possible unless...

Was he predicting her attacks? That was absurd! How could he possibly do that?

He didn't attack her, not once. And the peculiar chakra was now filling not just his chakra network, but his entire body and more and more of this strange energy was flowing into him.

Then, when she was already used to him dodging, he threw a simple punch. She dodged it out of habit, his attack missing her side by several inches.

She was about to take advantage of that, when suddenly, the strange chakra flowed out of him, surrounding him like a human-shaped coat.

And reaching her.

She felt a strong blow, stronger than before and she was thrown back, hitting the ground and rolling until she slammed back-first into a tree.

Naruto patiently waited for her to stand up. She managed to do it after a while, but she needed to lean on the tree in order to do so.

"From your face I can see you have no idea what just happened" she didn't deny, even though she very much wanted to.

"This thing, the Sage mode, allows me to gather the natural energy from my surroundings" despite all her pain and humiliation, she listened intently.

"When you add this natural energy to the stamina and spiritual energy, you get senjutsu chakra instead of regular chakra. In this form my speed and strength rise. I can even rest instead of getting tired, because I keep absorbing energy from the outside, instead of using energy from my body."

She bit her lip, but the curiosity won. "How did you dodge all of my attacks?"

"Well, I believe that's the difference between the Byakugan and the Sharingan" her brows furrowed. What that had to do with this?

He obviously saw her confusion.

"What I mean is that the Byakugan allows you to see more, but you need to understand what you see yourself. On the other hand, Sharingan cannot see through walls, but it allows the body and the mind to interpret what is sees. It allows you to follow the enemy's movements even at high speed. It means you can read his handseals and body movements, reacting to his muscles twitching as soon as they happen. Or something like that. This is not fortune-telling, but comes in handy."

She blinked.

"That's what you did?"

"No, I don't have the Sharingan" he replied. "But the Sage mode allows me to feel chakra and its patterns. Since your Juuken requires you injecting chakra into enemy body, it is quite easily dodged. And even if you hit, I doubt you would be able to get past my Sage mode with this little chakra."

"That's not fair!" she complained, her pride momentarily forgotten in an effort to find a valid excuse. "How am I supposed to match the strength of such powerful shinobi as you?"

To her surprise Naruto laughed.

At first she was angered, but then she realized that he wasn't laughing at her. His laughter was... warm...

He deactivated his Sage mode.

"You're funny" he said when he finally composed himself. "You treat me as some hero that needs proper respect. Like some noble or something like that."

She blinked again.

"And why wouldn't I?" she shot back. "You're the hero of Konoha, the son of the Fourth Hokage and a member of the Uzumaki clan!"

"You're wrong" he answered, his sad tone making her stop. He approached her and when he was three feet away he sat on the ground, gesturing for her to do the same.

She hesitated, but she was tired already, so she plumped down on the grass.

"It's true what you said, but I didn't know about any of it till I was sixteen" he began. "I was loud, obnoxious, stupid idiotic knucklehead. I still am" her eyes widened in disbelief. "Konohamaru is very much like me, but probably a little smarter" he smiled to himself.

"During my academy years I was a dead last. A dropout. I sucked at most jutsus, especially the bunshin no jutsu" impossible! From what she heard, the kage bunshin was his favourite technique!

"I was nothing like the Akimichis, Inuzukas, Yamanakas, Aburames or Naras. And, of course, I was nowhere near the last remaining Uchiha or the Hyuugas."

She listened to every word, looking into his sad blue eyes.

"I had no parents or friends, so I pulled pranks in order to get the attention of others. I wanted to become Hokage in order to get recognized by everyone. And above all of that I was the Jinchuuriki of Kurama."

Hanabi was confused. Naruto saw this.

"Kurama is better known as the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, one of the nine Bijuu. And the Jinchuuriki are humans with Bijuu sealed inside of them, the tools of war that die once you remove the Bijuu from them. It made my life a hell of loneliness, that is until I met people precious to me."

She was speechless. She didn't know much about it, but she recalled her father telling her about the last war.

Naruto seemed to read her mind.

"But it's over now. The Kurama and the other Bijuus are free now and there are no more Jinchuuriki. And I'm alive as you can see" he smiled, his hand scratching his neck. "When I got stronger I realized that I have many people precious to me and now I want to become Hokage in order to protect them."

He paused for a moment.

"But I still remember fighting against the fate with your cousin" she perked at that. "And I managed to beat him, despite him being a genius and me being a dropout."

Another pause.

"What I mean is... it doesn't matter whether you are a Hyuuga, an Aburame or some common shinobi. The bloodline limits are not everything. There are so many skills out there, all things I used to fight you are not bloodline limits, though you could say the Sage mode and the vast amount of chakra are very rare. The point is, your teammates possess many skills you don't and your teammates will save your ass. More than once probably. And your ass will be a lot easier to save if you will be a good teammate."

She dropped her head, a well-known feeling gushing inside of her, eating at her. She never have guessed she would be feeling this one particular feeling now.

Shame.

"The fact that you lost to me probably hurt your pride, but look on it that way" she perked, confused. "You are the first Hyuuga to witness the Sage mode so close and have it explained to you. Thanks to that, you could fight me better than anybody in your clan, maybe even better than Hinata" the mentioning of her sister didn't have as much impact as she though it would have. "The way we learn is always hard, but you're used to learning by winning. I say learning by losing is much more efficient. Actually I don't think you lost at all. I'm sure your sensei will be proud of you."

She remembered how Ebisu-sensei praised her for her lame introduction. Could, could it be better than she'd thought?

"I know it's not easy, but you will have to work on it, so just promi-" he stopped abruptly and stood up, turning. Hanabi was confused, but a moment later she heard the rustling of leaves and saw a figure coming out for the bushes in front of them.

"So, I guess the three minute time limit is over, right?" Konohamaru announced, kunai in his hand.

**(* * *)**

**So... mainly a battle chapter. Also it might seem like a little Naruto x Hanabi, but fear not – that serves only to point out Hanabi's mistakes for her. Let's hope she will get better at teamwork.  
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**Or will she...?**

**To find out you will have to read the next chapter which, sadly, might take a while to post as I am short on finished chapters at the moment :/**

**However, your feedback (reviews, follows and so on) can motivate me for earlier updates, so... read, rate and review!**

**Oh... and today's reference is sponsored by the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  
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	6. The second chance

**Hello to all my readers. After more-than-a-week pause I am back with the next chapter of Flowers of Trees!**

**Without further ado, here goes the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of things to put here...**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

Naruto regarded Konohamaru for a moment and then sighed.

"You know well enough that you can't beat me on your own" he started. "Your teammate is unable to fight at the moment and it's your fault."

"Of course!" Konohamaru shouted back to Hanabi's surprise.

"That's really bad way to treat you teammates, you know that?" Naruto asked, a little more serious.

"I don't think so" Konohamaru shot back. "I knew we couldn't defeat you and Sakura from the beginning" he explained. "I think we couldn't beat you two even if the four of us were working together. We will get the bells some other time."

Naruto furrowed his brows. "So why do you still want to fight, when you cannot win?"

"Isn't it obvious, niichan?" he asked. "My dream is to defeat you! I will take any chance to train fighting you!"

At this moment Hanabi remembered the introductions and Konohamaru's dream. She also remembered what Naruto told her a few minutes ago. She realized that Konohamaru recognized their defeat as a team and choose to take this opportunity to get closer to his own dream.

To her the idea was strange at best, but Naruto only chuckled, then dropped into fighting stance.

"Very well!" he said. "What're you waiting for? Move!"

Konohamaru smirked.

"Already have."

Hanabi had her Byakugan deactivated, still she noticed movement above them. She turned her head just in time to see a number of shurikens flying at Naruto.

The orange-clad shinobi jumped and somersaulted back, avoiding the damage. Just as he landed two Konohamarus fell from above with kunais in hand.

Naruto dodged first attack by leaning back, touching the ground with his hands and then kicking one of his enemies in the stomach with both legs, then he moved on his hands, shifting them around, turning himself im place and managing to kick the other one in the face.

Both Konohamarus disappeared in clouds of white smoke.

"Is that everything you've got?" he asked, not looking surprised at all.

Hanabi on the other hand was surprised. Shadow clones? This was a jounin-level skill. Konohamaru couldn't have possible done this.

Right?

She looked at the young Sarutobi and, as on cue, he crossed his fingers in a familiar handseal.

Poof.

Another Konohamaru appeared beside him.

Not believing this, Hanabi activated her Byakugan, but it was true. It was no regular bunshin, but a true shadow clone – Konohomaru's chakra was equally divided between both him and his replication.

This idiot could do such a technique?

"Is that what you think, niichan?" the boy said in reply to Naruto's question. "Then watch this!"

Konohamaru extended his arm to the side, where his clone stood. Not a second later a considerable amount of chakra started to gather at his palm and the clone started to sort of... claw and tug at this chakra. This seemed ridiculous, but then...

The chakra started to flow in multiple directions as it was being guided by Konohamaru. In matter of seconds she saw a completely random hurricane of chakra that was flying everywhere.

It looked completely wild and untamed, until the chakra started to subside. At first she thought that Konohamaru got tired and released the jutsu, but no. He was simply compressing it, all of this wild spinning chakra was now closed in a sphere the size of his fist.

The chakra was so intense... She was almost sure... She deactivated her Byakugan and her eyes widened. She was right! The chakra was clearly visible even now! She could feel shivers going down her spine – this technique was dangerous... and beautiful. She was entranced by the untamed energy in Konohamaru's hands, the multiple chakra strands clearly chaotic, but undeniably harmonious at the same time.

"Ready, or not, here I come!" the boy and his clone charged at Naruto.

Naruto dashed back at them. Were they crazy? Were they trying to really kill each other?

The clone marched forward, but disappeared when Naruto threw three shurikens at it almost from point blank range. Konohamaru just smirked and thrust his hand with this flashy jutsu right into Naruto.

At least that was what he intended. But Naruto crouched just a little and low kicked him, throwing him off-balance.

"Whaa..." Konohamaru yelled and the jutsu in his hand started to disperse, hitting the ground and kicking a cloud of dust into the air.

One moment and one kick later Konohamaru shot out of the dust and fell to the ground, groaning painfully.

Hanabi was disappointed. This jutsu looked interesting, but all it did was make some swirl-like pattern in the dirt.

Useless. She should have known.

"I thought you would be wiser than to use the rasengan out in the open, you should do some diversion first."

Konohamaru only smiled back.

"That exactly what I did" he said... and disappeared with a poof.

Hanabi was surprised and then... and then she felt the same chakra pressure as before, but above her... and stronger.

She looked up just to see another pair of Konohamarus above Naruto. The same jutsu, but now bigger than her head, in between them.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed, gathering chakra in his legs.

"Oodama rasengan!" both Konohamarus yelled.

And then the jutsu hit the ground.

There was a strange, high-pitched sound and then white and blueish light flashed, making Hanabi squint her eyes.

She was about to open them to see what was happening, but then the sound turned into a low and loud rumble, the light intensified, flashing through her closed eyelids and a gust of wind hit her face. She turned her head trying to shield herself from the dirt, leaves and small stones.

A few seconds later the pressure subsided and the rumble was reduced to a quiet unnatural growl. Hanabi let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She then turned her head back and opened her eyes, gasping.

The first thing she saw were leaves floating in all directions, up and down included, in a cloud of dust. The whole place looked like a strong wind blew through it, which actually happened.

Naruto was standing a good dozen of meters from her, his clothes a little torn, but otherwise unharmed. He was looking at the center of the damage zone, as did she.

In the center there was space roughly ten by ten feet wide, where even the ground was not resistant enough. She saw roots torn out from the ground and rocks half-lifted to the surface. The spot was also surprisingly clean, devoid of all loose material that was currently flying in all directions.

But the reason for her gasp was a small hole in the ground, not larger than three by three feet. What surprised her, was that this hole was almost a perfect circle, cleanly cutting through dirt, wood and even stone, an example of a surgical precision amidst a total chaos.

How could this jutsu explode in such a way? And where was Konohamaru?

A second later the said boy simply jumped out from the hole, landing on his feet with some difficulty, his breath laboured.

She blinked. How could he fit in such a small hole? She didn't see him at all! She activated her Byakugan once more and looked at the hole.

And then she understood.

The hole was, in fact, a six or seven feet deep tunnel. The jutsu didn't just explode, it drilled and ate through the earth. The tunnel connected to a much larger chamber where the chakra hurricane actually exploded, creating a torn out nightmare underground.

Konohamaru saw the destruction he's done and started to scratch the back of his head.

"Hehehehe" he laughed nervously.

That idiot! He had the nerve to laugh after causing such a dangerous situation! He won't be laughing when Naruto will scold him.

"That's my student!" Naruto announced.

Huh?

"You're getting stronger, Konohamaru! You have fully mastered the Yondaime's jutsu!"

If it could, her mouth would have hit the ground.

"What? Yondaime Hokage used this jutsu?" she asked and, to her surprise, Konohamaru did too.

Naruto looked at them bankly.

"Sure he did!" he replied, surprised by their shock. "He invented it by copying the unique attack all the Bijuus use – the Bijuu dama."

"I haven't seen anybody in the village use this jutsu!" she defended.

"Of course you haven't!" Naruto rolled his eyes. "Only me, the Yondaime, Ero-sennin, Kakashi-sensei and Konohamaru knew how to do it!"

"Ero-sennin?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Ahh... That's how I call him... His real name was Jiraiya, the Legendary Sannin."

"Jiraiya?" she asked back. "THE Jiraiya?" anger shot through her. "How can you call him something like 'Ero-sennin'?"

Konohomaru chuckled. "Cause he was a perverted old man!" he said.

She looked at him with disgust. "He was not just some perverted old man!"

"Of course not!" Naruto said, laughing. "He was an open super pervert and author of the Icha Icha series!" he paused for a moment. "But he was also the toad sage of the Myoubokuzan, he taught me the rasengan. He was also my godfather and gave my name" Naruto was completely serious by now. "And he died to protect the village and its future!"

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find any words, torn between shock, admiration and compassion. She was still weakened, but it seemed that her body was faring much better than her mind, which was currently flowing with so much information, most of which was completely unbelievable.

"So, what I have to learn next, niichan?" Konohamaru asked, pumped up, despite his exhaustion.

"Next, you have to develop your own techniques and stop depending on me" Naruto said. "Find your own fighting style that suits you the best."

Konohamaru widened his eyes.

"No way! I'll master whatever you will master, Naruto-niichan!"

Naruto chuckled. "Then I will show you a jutsu you can't master."

"Huh?"

Hanabi watched as Naruto eyes once again turned yellow and orange. He entered the Sage mode.

Then he made two shadow clones.

"Watch carefully Konohamaru, this jutsu requires both a wind-element chakra nature and a Sage mode in order to perform properly."

This time Hanabi did not hesitate at all and activated her Byakugan immediately.

Naruto created the rasengan and then started to manipulate its chakra. What she saw was a small shuriken-shaped spinning chakra around the center. It looked rather unimpressive until...

"What the hell is this?" Konohamaru asked, his hands on his ears.

She could hear it as well. This technique emitted loud, screeching noises that made her ears ring. She could also feel the ground and the tree behind her shaking.

"This" Naruto announced proudly. "Is the Rasen shuriken!"

The jutsu was now larger than Naruto himself, really looking like a giant shuriken. She focused her eyesight to see better. And gasped.

"I think this jutsu is composed of thousands of smaller chakra objects" she said excitedly to no-one in particular.

"Millions actually" Naruto corrected. "Those needle-shaped blades are so small that they would go through you're body and destroy every single chakra connection in your body."

She was speechless. Did he mean the chakra connections to individual cells? Even she couldn't see them, not yet anyway!

"Well then. Here it goes!" he said and then... he threw it.

Konohamaru and Hanabi both jumped back, fear in their eyes, watching as the chakra projectile passed them by and flew off into trees.

The Rasen shuriken cut a few trees that stood in its path and then expanded, violently grinding everything in its range, screeching all the time.

Konohamaru and Hanabi watched flabbergasted for several seconds. Then the boy seemed to wake up from his stupor and turned to Naruto with an angry expression.

"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted. "That was dangerous, what if it really hit us?!"

Hanabi blinked. She approached him and snapped at him.

"So now you worry about someone being hit, huh? And you doing that dangerous rasen-something jutsu was okay, is that what you wanted to say?" she accused.

He looked at her strangely, as if seeing her for the first time in his life and then he blushed, clearly embarrassed.

"S-shut up!" he spat, surprising her by stepping closer to her, so their faces were a mere foot away. "You were fighting Naruto-niichan with an intention to kill, you're the same!"

He still called Naruto "niichan". He might be a tiny little bit better than she assumed, but he wasn't allowed to do that. Or accuse her. And especially come this close to her.

"I had everything under control!" she answered, hands on her hips, dangerous scowl on her face. She leaned even closer to him, refusing to step back.

"Yeah, right..." he rolled his eyes, completely unaffected by her actions, embarrassed face already gone, replaced with that of irritation.

She narrowed her eyes and hissed quietly and he just gritted his teeth and growled in response.

"Umm... guys..." Naruto interjected.

"What?" they both hollered turning their heads to him.

WHAM!

Both chuunins hit the ground face-first, completely unconscious.

(* * *)

"...can you say that? You didn't get your bell!" she heard someone speaking in an unnaturally muffled voice. Was it a girl?

"Oi oi, look who's talking! Take a look at yourselves, you were utterly defeated!" a second voice, this one was muffled as well, but much louder. A boy?

"And that's makes you better?" the first voice questioned, clearly angered.

"Of course! I didn't delude myself with any hope of victory and at least my defeat was awesome!" the first voice replied, obviously proud.

"There is no such thing as awesome defeat" a third voice. This one was much calmer, but less familiar.

The voices were getting louder and clearer.

"Sure there is!" the proud one countered back.

"Stop this bickering, you two" another, somewhat cowardly voice interjected.

Her vision started to return, accompanied by a dull pain.

"Ouch!"

"Hey, she's waking up" one voice said, she couldn't tell which one, though.

Hanabi opened her eyes.

And first thing she saw was the face of one Haruno Sakura.

"Are you feeling alright?" the medic-nin asked, a hint of worry in her voice. That voice was the calm one.

She nodded weakly, although not one bit sure of her answer.

"Course she is!" her vision was invaded by Konohamaru, the owner of the loud voice.

Obviously.

They were still on the training grounds. From her vision she realized she must have been standing, which was weird. She was supposed to be unconscious after Naruto hit her and Konohamaru. And from the conversation she heard it was safe to assume they failed to get the bells.

She noticed Moegi and Udon, two last voices she heard, as well as Naruto and her sensei Ebisu, standing or sitting in front of her.

Looking at her.

All of them.

She felt a feeling in her gut again. Something between shame and embarrassment.

Were they worried about her?

The feeling transformed into anger. She could take care of herself!

"I'm fine!" she insisted and then tried to move only to find out that she couldn't as her waist seemed restrained.

She heard a snigger that could only belong to Moegi.

What the hell, she thought. She looked down.

She was tied.

"What is this?" she asked. Why was she tied? And tied to what exactly? She turned around.

And gaped.

She was tied to one of the three stakes.

At this point, she began to panic.

"What's going on?" she asked, half furious and half terrified.

"Calm down, Hanabi" Ebisu said, lifting his glasses with his finger.

'Calm down?' she thought. 'I will show you calm down. Wait till I tell my father' she promised in her mind.

"Why am I tied like this?" she asked again.

"Simple" Moegi answered, smiling. "We failed to complete the bell test and the worst performing student always ends up tied-"

"Moegi-chan..." Naruto interrupted her, boring eyes into her. "That's rude!"

Sakura turned to Naruto. "And since when do you know what's rude and what's not?"

Naruto frowned at her. "What you just said – that's rude" he countered. "Even someone like me could learn some manners after spending so much time with you!"

"Hmpf! You got that right! Seems my manners have finally rubbed off on you" Sakura answered back.

"I don't think it was your manners Sakura-senpai" Konohamaru said quietly, his gaze focused on her gloves.

"What was that?" Sakura turned to him.

"Nothing!" Konohamaru lifted his hands in defence, smiling. "I said nothing!"

'Liar' everyone else thought.

"Whatever" Sakura ended the discussion. "Moegi" the said girl turned to look at her. "The fact that somebody ends up tied to a stake does not mean he or she is, or will be, the weakest in the group!"

"Haa?" Moegi answered. "You just say so."

"It's true. I was the weakest one when we had this test with Kakashi-sensei. Do you know who ended up tied to the stake?"

"Umm..." Moegi hesitated. "You?"

"It was me" Naruto said, smiling.

Everyone, except for Sakura and Ebisu, turned to look at him, agape.

"You, Naruto-niichan?" Konohamaru asked shocked.

"Yeah."

"Why am I not surprised" Ebisu commented, followed by a chuckle from Sakura.

"And do you know who else ended up being tied?" Naruto paused for a moment. "Ero-sen-... I mean Jiraiya."

At this even Sakura and Ebisu blinked.

"I did not know that" the pink-haired kunoichi admitted.

"Maybe only the great shinobi end up tied to the stake?" Ebisu wondered aloud.

That's better, Hanabi thought.

"More like, all perverts end up being tied" Konohomaru said, looking at the Hyuuga girl with a smirk.

Hanabi's hands were tied. But not her legs.

WHACK!

"Ouch!" Konohomaru stepped back holding his shin.

"What was that for?"

THUD!

The Sarutobi boy, tears in his eyes, held the top of his head where Moegi just punched him.

"Maybe it's you who needs to be tied then" she commented angrily.

Konohamaru couldn't find any answer, so he just glared back at his teammate.

Hanabi frowned. Konohamaru just called her a... a pervert. But why did Moegi hit him for that? Why would she defend her? She clearly didn't like her!

"Now, calm down everyone!" Sakura commanded. "Hanabi is the one tied to the stake, because she was the first to leave the team and jeopardize the mission!"

"Told you so" Moegi remarked.

"You weren't much better" Sakura scolded Moegi. "You and Udon had better teamwork and better plan of action, but without Konohamaru you were just waiting for your defeat!" she continued. "I don't understand why Tsunade-shishou put you three in one team. You need to learn how to fight without Konohamaru!"

"Surprisingly" Naruto interjected. "Our little Konohamaru was the only one who both, realized his situation and managed to fight back" he praised.

Konohamaru laughed with his hand scratching his neck.

"But that was because he knows me... and he still has lost" the smug look disappeared from Konohamaru's face.

"Well, I believe that concludes our little test" Ebisu said. "We will try another week, after we train on your teamwork. No, let's-"

"Wait a moment" Naruto stopped him, smiling. "I think we should give our little fellows a second chance."

"What?" six voices asked at once.

"What do you mean?" Sakura inquired. "They clearly couldn't beat us on their own, much alone as a team" she noticed.

"All I'm saying" Naruto started explaining. "Is that they didn't have chance to come up with some plan as a team" he winked at the four chuunins. "Now what we have here... Konohamaru and Hanabi are both first-line fighters with considerable jutsus. Hanabi can protect herself with her Kaiten and Konohamaru can create diversions with his shadow clones" he remarked. "And they both can use their techniques for scouting."

"As for Moegi and Udon..." Naruto turned to the said pair. "They are more like a support team. Udon can come up with some stable plan of action and support the front line with some genjutsu, while Moegi can attack from the distance and do some healing, am I right?"

The girl and boy in question both nodded, somewhat hesitantly.

"I say, we reverse the rules" Naruto suggested. "They'll try to ambush us, but we will assume that we don't know about their attack. If they manage to get both bells, they pass."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by Ebisu.

"I don't think they will pass, but I don't mind giving them another chance. This will be a good exercise" he commented with a tone of finality then turned to the chuunins. "If you retrieve the bells till, say... 9 o'clock you pass. Okay, let's go" he said and disappeared in a poof of smoke, quickly followed by Naruto and Sakura.

When they were far enough Sakura spoke.

"Do you seriously think they can get the bells in a little more than an hour?"

"Naah..." Naruto replied. "Still, that will help their teamwork for sure!"

(* * *)

Back at the glade the four chuunins stood, confused. Konohamaru was the first on to break the silence.

"Lucky!" he announced. "We can still win this!"

"Huh?" Udon looked at him surprised. "Didn't you just say that we can't beat them even while fighting together?"

"Yeah, but that was with them attacking us head-on!" he said back. "Now it is us who decide on the time and the place. We just need to take the initiative, the initiative!"

He moved behind Hanabi.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm untying the rope" he replied. "Do you mind?"

"I can cut it with my chakra, it will be faster" she answered, but before she could tell him to move back, the ties loosened and she was free.

"Huh?"

"If we are to work together" Konohamaru started. "You have to trust me a little more."

She turned to see the rope in his hands, already untied.

"How did you..."

"This?" he asked. "It's a jutsu for untying ropes. They teach this in the Ninja academy. Basic stuff" he explained.

Hanabi never attended the Ninja academy except for the final exam. Her father taught her to destroy ropes with precise chakra bursts.

For some reason she didn't want them to know that she hadn't attended the academy. Fortunately for her, Konohamaru didn't question her further.

He just looked at the rope in his hands and smiled.

"The rope is in one piece, that's some 10 meters" he remarked. "We can actually use this!"

"Huh?" she asked. "Use what?" she looked at the object in his hands. "You mean the rope?" she has never even as much as considered that.

"Of course!" he grinned. "That's not your usual ninja combat tool, right? We'll surprise them!"

"Whoa, whoa" Moegi interrupted them. "Are we actually going to do this? The four of us?"

For some reason her question hit the mark, as each one of them went silent for a moment.

"Yeah..." Konohamaru replied at last. "We can make some good plan. Naruto-niichan actually spelled it out for us. You and Udon" he pointed to the brown-haired chuunin are going to support us with some genjutsu and ranged attacks and the two of us" Konohamaru gestured in the general direction of Hanabi. "Will fight them directly."

"All we need is a solid plan that ALL of us will follow to the letter."

"That means that... that Hanabi-san" it was clear that it wasn't easy for Moegi to refer to the Hyuuga by her name. "Will have to follow this plan as well."

Hanabi blinked. True, Uzumaki-san was much more powerful than her and probably so was Haruno-san. She could admit that.

Her own father was more powerful than her and she had to deal with his superiority on a daily manner. No big deal.

She could admit that the Sarutobi would be helpful and not only for distracting the enemy.

But admitting that she needed the help of the other two?

Still she needed their help and if they passed then she would be able to do ninja mission without other Hyuugas to annoy her.

This was worth a try.

She bowed.

"I will be honoured to have your help..." she hesitated trying to remember their introductions. "Sobaya-san, Hatsuko-san."

Moegi opened her mouth in shock and Udon actually smiled at her.

Konohamaru, however, was not satisfied.

"That won't do" he informed her. "We cannot win if we are Hyuuga, Hatsuko, Sobaya and Sarutobi." he told them. "We need to act as a team that trusts each other, therefore we should call ourselves with our proper names!"

"I know!" Udon interrupted. "Let's do the same thing that we did when we formed the Konohamaru Corps!"

The boy extended his hand, palm facing the ground.

"Udon!"

Hanabi furrowed her brows, not understanding what he was doing.

Moegi dispelled her confusion, by putting her hand of top of Udon's.

"Moegi!"

The Sarutobi boy added his hand on top of those of his teammates.

"Konohamaru!"

They all looked expectantly at her and under their gaze she felt nervous for some reason.

'This is ridiculous' she thought, but slowly, she extended her hand and placed it on top of Konohamaru's.

"Hanabi!"

Then she saw them smiling. All smiles looked a little uncomfortable for reasons she did not understand (except for Udon, whose nervousness matched him perfectly), but they were smiling at her.

"Hehe!" Konohamaru scratched the back of his head. "I guess this means the end of the Konohomaru Corps and the beginning of the new Team Ebisu, right?" he asked beaming, looking at all three of them.

Moegi and Udon smiled right back at him.

Hanabi looked at Konohamaru. At this moment she noticed that his toothy grin was similar to Naruto's, but also different and unique at the same time.

She also noticed that her hand felt weird on top of his, though she couldn't exactly place the feeling.

She didn't, however, notice her own lips curling up into a small smile and a quiet gasp from Konohamaru that followed.

(* * *)

**In the end this chapter was not as much battle-oriented as I thought, but the next one will be!**

**Also, I am quite aware that smart, calm and explaining Naruto seems out-of-character, but our little Hanabi needs a proper teacher and Naruto just happened to be there.**

**I'm really happy with the ending scene, some seeds of KonoHana are there at last. **Next chapter will have another one of those.** Had to make up the forming of Konohamaru Corps, though. Glad it was worth it.  
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**"Hanabi wakes up tied to a stake" scene is my second favourite and I hope you will appreciate it as much as I do ;)**

**The reviews activity decreased, which can negatively impact the frequency of updates, so I strongly encourage you to drop me a review whether you like where this is going or not.  
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**Review and stay tuned for future developments!**


	7. The test concludes

**Hello, everyone!**

**I'm back with the 7th (and a little shorter) chapter of Flowers of Trees!  
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**First, I would like to kindly you for your reviews and take this chance to reply to some of them:  
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** 1. ZelgadisGW: My favourite scene from the last chapter was the ending scene aka "Team Ebisu is formed and Hanabi smiles" ;)  
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**2. Eto117: I agree, Hanabi needs to open up, but it might take a while (**I mean** in number of words -.-'). The same goes for Udon and Moegi – this will not happen until we reach a certain (a little distant) phase in the story. As for Konohamaru keeping his perverted nature in check... I wouldn't count on that xD. And, unfortunately, I don't understand your Frozen reference. Sorry.**

**Okay, now onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: last time I checked, Naruto was owned by Masashi Kishimoto not me.  
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**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

Naruto yawned, bored out of his mind.

He was leaning on some tree in the middle of the forest. Ebisu was sitting on a rock a few meters away from him. If he was bored as well, he didn't let it know.

Sakura was sitting on a branch high above them. Hidden by the leaves she observed the terrain around them.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, trying to get her attention.

He was rewarded with a shuriken that grazed his cheek.

"Be quiet, idiot!" she scolded him not so quiet herself. "You will give away our location!"

"That's the point" the blond replied. "We let them surprise us, remember?"

"Hmpf, I never agreed to that!" was her response. "If you want to give them a handicap maybe you should go to sleep or create some smoke."

"No" he replied lazily. "I don't want to miss anything or waste any chakra and tools.

"Then you could, I don't know, carve hints on trees or give them fire signals."

"Don't be silly Sakura-chan, you almost seem afraid of them."

"What?" she hollered back at him, making Ebisu furrow his brows. "You can't be serious!"

"Oi, oi" he answered back. "If you shout like that they are going to find us for sure!"

That seemed to shut her up, although he was sure he would regret it later.

They were staying like that for another five minutes when they all heard a faint rustling from the trees nearby.

In an instant, Sakura and Naruto had shurikens in their hands and Ebisu stood up. They all turned in the direction of the sound.

A few seconds passed, but nothing happened.

"Come out!" Sakura shouted.

Silence.

"We all heard you!" Naruto announced.

Nothing.

"Maybe it wasn't them" Sakura mused after a moment.

"There!" Naruto threw three shurikens when he noticed some movement behind the trees.

The said projectiles swished through the air and landed with a series of soft thunks.

"Did I get them?" Naruto wondered aloud.

He was answered by a rain of kunais.

"What the..." he shouted and jumped backwards, at least half a dozen knives embedded themselves into the trunk near him.

Sakura gracefully jumped down from her branch and landed next to Naruto. Both shinobi were now back-to-back, ready to intercept attacks from the front and behind.

The attack came from the side.

Konohamaru and Hanabi emerged from the bushes and charged at them.

"All right, bring it on!" Naruto shouted while throwing another barrage of shurikens at them.

Sakura supported him with a few kunais, aiming for the spots where she expected them to dodge Naruto's attack.

Konohamaru and Hanabi avoided and deflected their attacks, but Sakura noticed that they did it somewhat sloppy. Especially Hanabi.

Before she could ponder on it some more, another hail of kunais fell from the sky. That one was well-aimed, forcing her and Naruto to separate.

Konohamaru started making handseals and quite several of them, which Naruto thought was weird.

Naruto was close to Konohamaru now, almost ready to kick him, when suddenly leaves started to dance around him and a moment later his vision was fully covered by them.

Naruto blinked, but the leaves dispersed just as quickly as they appeared, clearing his vision. As if they never existed in the first place.

He saw that Konohamaru was ready to attack him. Naruto evaded his punch and kicked him in the face.

To his surprise Konohamaru did not react, while he experienced a strong blow to his own face, stumbling back.

What the hell?

He blocked another attack only to double over in pain clutching his stomach.

There was only one possible explanation – genjutsu.

But since when Konohamaru was able to use it? Unless...

"Tch" he mouthed trying to jump back as far away from his enemy as possible.

Sakura on the other hand charged at Hanabi, raising her fist. Her target, however, jumped using chakra, flying over the medic-nin.

By the time Sakura turned in mid-air, Hanabi already had unreeled a scroll with a "knife" character in the center.

Sakura's eyes widened. That was...

Before she could finish her thought a volley of kunais was summoned and launched in her direction.

She avoided the damage, albeit with much difficulty, and threw her own kunai, enhanced with chakra. The blade cut into the side of the Hyuuga girl, who then was encased in white smoke.

But it was no kawarimi. The smoke dispersed, confirming her assumption.

It was Moegi transformed.

Despite her suspicion she was still surprised, watching as the orange-haired girl, fell to the ground.

She sensed a movement behind her and turned, only to see real Konohamaru and Hanabi jumping at her, a tree between them and Sakura. The boy to her left and the girl to her right.

'Damn it! They had us completely fooled!' she thought while dashing to clash with them.

The Hyuuga and the Sarutobi touched the ground and bounced in each other's direction, hiding behind a tree.

Astounded Sakura watched as both figures disappeared briefly and then reappeared. Hanabi was now on the left and Konohamaru was on the right.

And each was holding an end of a rope.

Sakura instantly understood their intention, but was too slow. Both chuunins bounced once again and surrounded her with the rope. Sakura was pinned to the tree, watching in shock as her enemies continued to tie her with several more layers of rope.

"Hehe, every pervert ends up tied, right?" Konohamaru sneered at her, when only she could hear him.

"First phase is a success!" Hanabi announced. "Now let's-"

She didn't finish as she saw the second Konohamaru sliding on the ground next to her.

Poof.

Konohamaru turned back into Udon.

"Sorry" the boy commented. "Naruto dispelled my genjutsu."

Hanabi had her Byakugan activated and noticed that the rope restraining Sakura started to give up when the enraged kunoichi started to fight against it.

"Shannaro!" and just like that the rope snapped.

"Konohamaru-san! Udon-san!" Hanabi said already in her battle stance. "Take care of Uzumaki-san" she ordered. "Moegi-san, help me with Haruno-san."

Moegi didn't like being ordered around, especially by Hanabi, but she had little choice.

Both chuunin girls charged at Sakura. Moegi threw some shurikens, but Sakura simply jumped above them. Hanabi saw this as a great opportunity. She prepared herself, monitoring Sakura's chakra network and aiming for her diaphragm.

She was almost ready to strike, when her eyes noticed a flare of chakra concentrated on Sakura's raised fist. The Hyuuga stopped abruptly and jumped to the side.

She was informed of Sakura's inhuman strength by Konohamaru and Moegi. Still, she couldn't help, but wince in fear as she saw a portion of earth where she just stood explode into smithereens.

The attack threw her and Moegi in different directions. The Hyuuga crossed her arms over her face, shielding herself from debris.

She landed firmly on her feet and noticed that behind her Konohamaru and Udon were fighting at least a dozen of Naruto's clones.

"Ebisu-sensei" Konohamaru yelled. "Help us!"

"Huh?" Ebisu responded. "Are you joking? I'm not supposed to help you."

"Oh, c'mon, we will treat you as a ninja tool!" Konohamaru suggested. "If you help us, I won't tell anybody what kind of techniques you are vulnerable to!"

At this Ebisu flinched.

"Why you little.. how could you..." Ebisu hollered back, visibly shaken. "That's blackmail!"

"Yeah" Konohamaru answered, while dodging attacks. "Very ninja-like thing to do!"

"Nice try, Konohamaru!" Naruto commented. "But this tactic is a double-edged sword. Ebisu-sensei! If you help them, then I will tell EVERYBODY about those little incidents of yours!"

At this Ebisu stopped and Konohamaru cursed.

Hanabi didn't quite understand what Konohamaru had in mind when he had suggested he will get their sensei to help them, but the plan clearly didn't work.

She also noticed that Sakura rushed towards Moegi.

'Not good' she thought, running after the medic-nin.

Moegi grabbed two kunais, her absolutely last projectiles, and hurled them at Sakura, who just smiled, shifting her body to the side. The knives missed her by a few inches and Sakura turned over her shoulder briefly, watching as the kunais flew towards Hanabi, who was directly behind her.

Her eyes-widened though as soon as she saw that Hanabi didn't panic or dodge, but smoothly caught both knives, spun in place and threw them back at her.

Sakura pulled out her own kunai and deflected the incoming projectiles. This little Hyuuga was getting on her nerves!

"Catch this!" she shouted as she threw a kunai on her own. The said item was aimed not at Hanabi, but a meter or so in front of her.

And it had a paper tag attached to it.

Hanabi jumped to avoid the explosion, but Sakura followed her. She pretended she didn't see her until the last moment. Then, she turned and thrust her palm right into Sakura's liver, making her gasp.

Without a moment of hesitation Hanabi spun once more, hands reaching for the bell. She extended her hand, fingers a few inches from her target, when she felt a strong tug and halted.

With a shock she noticed that Sakura managed to catch her and was now intending to knee her in the stomach, just like Naruto did before. Learning from past experiences Hanabi straightened herself and leaned her head back. This allowed her to evade the knee strike, but exposed her face, earning her a headbutt.

It took her a moment to realize what happened and that she was lying on the ground. Wincing in pain, she slowly stood up and looked around.

Udon was sprawled on the ground, clearly unconscious. Konohamaru used some smoke bombs and explosive tags, yet he seemed to be losing his struggle against Naruto. Meanwhile, Moegi was busy dodging attacks from Sakura. She was almost defenceless, while the medin-nin sported a kunai in her hand.

Hanabi willed her aching body to move.

Finally, a kick from the pink-haired kunoichi connected and Moegi found herself on the ground, gasping for breath.

Sakura approached her, but halted when Hanabi landed between both girls, kunai in her hand. The Hyuua was breathing hard, too weak to sustain her Byakugan anymore. Nonetheless, she gripped her knife tightly and threw Sakura the most intimidating look she could muster.

"Not yet" she breathed. "This is not over yet!"

Sakura cracked her knuckles and smiled in a way that would make any serial killer proud.

"Oh c'mon" she spoke. "Just look at yourself! You can barely stand anymore!" she remarked. "If you want to fight me that much, I will have fun with you in a moment, let me finish things with Moegi first."

Hanabi gritted her teeth.

"I admit you are a very powerful and respectable kunoichi, Haruno-san. I couldn't possibly compete with you at my current level" she admitted. "But if you think I will step aside and abandon my mission or my team or any of my other responsibilities" she hissed. "Then feel free to attack me. I will defend this spot for the honour of my team, my clan and my village!" she finished boldly.

The only visible reaction was that Sakura's brow started to twitch uncontrollably.

"Is that so?" she asked and then moved in an instant.

Before Hanabi could comprehend what was happening, her kunai was on the ground and she was slammed against a tree, Sakura lifting her by her clothes, Hanabi's feet dangling in the air.

"For the team, clan and the village, huh?" Sakura repeated, looking positively murderous. "I'm not completely satisfied with this, but you know what?" she asked, leaning closer to Hanabi. The girl wanted nothing more but to Juuken Sakura in the stomach, but couldn't move anymore.

"You pass!"

For a moment everything was quiet.

"Pass?" Hanabi repeated, blinking. Pass what? She wasn't passing anything. She was in a middle of a test she needed to...

Oh...

"What?!" Konohomaru hollered despite his exhaustion. "What do you mean we pass? We didn't get the bells!"

"And you were never supposed to" Sakura answered him. "All you needed to do was prove your ability to act as a team. As I said, I'm not completely satisfied, but I will give you a passing grade. Any objections?" she asked turning to Naruto and Ebisu.

"Hehe, none!" the blond answered.

"Truly, there is much room for improvement" Ebisu wondered aloud, lifting his glasses. "But if Hanabi displayed this much effort, then I think all four of them are now ready for simple missions together!"

He turned to Naruto and Sakura.

"Thank you for your hard work! I owe you one."

"No problem!" Naruto replied. "If you want to repay the favour, you could always treat me to Ichiraku."

"No way!" Ebisu countered. "I will never let myself be tricked like that again."

Sakura giggled.

"Seems Ebisu-sensei is aware of your eating habits!"

"That's mean, Sakura-chan!" Naruto pouted.

Ebisu rolled his eyes and then turned to his team. "This concludes our exercise! Excellent work, everyone!"

"Alright!" Konohamaru jumped with his fist above the air.

Moegi was still sitting on the ground, breathing out in relief, looking tired. Still she smiled shyly at Konohamaru's antics.

Udon was conscious now, but seemed to not completely understand what was happening.

As for Hanabi, she didn't get most of the conversation just now, not that she was surprised anymore – those people were weird. Moreover, she disagreed with the "excellent work" part from Ebisu as she didn't feel that much accomplished. Still, her sensei said that the task was completed and it was enough for her.

(* * *)

They got back to the glade and bid farewell to Naruto and Sakura, with Konohamaru being loud and bold and Hanabi being polite, trying once again to maintain good relations with both high-ranking shinobi. It should gain her more respect than the Sarutobi, but Naruto still seemed unaffected by her manners, further confirming his similarity to Konohamaru.

After the two shinobis had left, the team took their chance to finally rest with Udon and Moegi plumping unceremoniously to the ground.

Hanabi glanced at the three stakes, her experience with them still humiliating, but now she could at least recognize her mistake. She looked at her new team. They were lacking considerably in discipline and skills, but they could be quite useful when managed correctly.

Sobaya was the smartest and could come up with a battle plan for all of them. Sarutobi was the most capable on his own, but he was also highly unstable and prone to idiocy, which highly limited his capabilities. And as for the Hatsuko girl... she was probably the weakest member of their group, but that didn't bother Hanabi, as she could prove useful anyway. What bothered Hanabi was the silent hostility that Moegi seemed to direct at her. This was not as prominent as before, but it was still there.

The fact that Moegi seemed to dislike her was not a problem in itself. She was used to people who disliked her and she preferred that rather than people who pretended to like her. At least Moegi was honest.

No, the problem was that Hanabi didn't understand the reason for the girl's hostility. As far as she knew, she never did anything to anger Moegi, as she had met her only yesterday and the girl apparently disliked her even before their little fight. And Hanabi didn't like things she couldn't understand.

Whatever, she will figure it out some other time.

"Hayakawa-sensei..." she said. "What are we going to do now?"

"Do?" Moegi asked. "I say we call it a day. That exercise was enough" she remarked. "Ow... I think I will feel it tomorrow..."

"Yeah, I agree" Udon interjected, somewhat hesitantly.

"Hmpf!" Hanabi answered, not looking in their direction. "You're just weak" she said. "You lack discipline and a proper training rigour!"

She didn't want it to sound so offensive, but something in Moegi just seemed to rub her up the wrong way.

"I don't know about you guys" Konohamaru chose this moment to speak. "But I will train myself some more today. Maybe I can talk Naruto-niichan into some sparring session later?" he wondered aloud.

'At least one of them sounds like a shinobi' Hanabi thought.

"Hayakawa-sensei?" she asked again.

"I think that is enough for today's teamwork training" Ebisu announced. "We still cannot take on missions, so you are free for today. Tomorrow we will continue with our training together."

Despite being dismissed Moegi and Udon just continued to lay on the ground.

Hanabi turned to face the sun and closed her eyes, letting the sunlight caress her face. She would train later in the day, but for now she could rest as well. She still felt a little tired and her muscles were sore. But it was a good thing. No pain, no gain. This only meant that she will become stronger and advance instead of staying in place.

She felt a mild breeze hitting her. It felt refreshing, like it was taking away a little of her exhaustion. She clasped her hands behind her back and let the wind flow through her dark brown hair.

She had her Byakugan deactivated at the moment, so she had no idea that Konohamaru was watching her the entire time.

Hanabi might have been wearing a male's clothing, but Konohamaru had seen countless females, many of them in adult magazines, and could actually tell that the young chuunin was very much a woman. Heck, he could tell so from the moment he saw her.

This particular feeling was nagging at him since yesterday, but till now he had been unable to come to terms with it, especially given the Hyuuga's behaviour.

But now it was different. Now he could not only see her capability for teamwork, but he also saw a glimpse of her tender side. Tender and undeniably beautiful. He could only watch mesmerized, even a little jealous of wind, being able to play with her long silky hair.

Then the breeze stopped and Konohamaru's brain ironically resumed its work. Quickly processing all known facts it brought Konohamaru to a single conclusion and made him curse under his breath.

He wanted to become Hokage, beat Naruto in a fight and become a renowned shinobi. His dreams were regarded as unattainable already, but fate seemingly decided to mock him some more and add a new dream to his collection.

Konohamaru could no longer deny it: he had a crush on the most pride-obsessed, cold, troublesome and unattainable girl he had ever met.

(* * *)

It was late afternoon. Hanabi had finished her training and was now in her room, awaiting dinner when she heard a soft knocking.

"Come in" she said mindlessly, while browsing several of her old ninja scrolls.

The door slid to the side revealing a Hyuuga servant.

"Hanabi-sama, Hiashi-sama has asked for your presence" he announced.

"Understood" she responded and stood up. This was rather rare, but not unexpected, she mused.

She arrived at Hiashi's room and knocked softly.

"Come in" the voice from inside demanded.

She obeyed.

"You wanted to see me, father?" Hanabi asked.

"Yes, just to ask about the outcome of our bet" Hiashi responded, not bothering to stand up from whatever work he was immersed into. "Have you decided whether you want to leave your current team?"

"Yes, father."

"And what is your decision?"

"I will stay in my current team" Hanabi answered as calmly as possible. If she was obedient enough, then maybe he won't embarrass her more.

"Good" Hiashi continued to write down things at the scroll in front of him. "That means my judgement was correct. Very well, that's all."

But Hanabi didn't move.

"I have a different request" she stated.

"Yes?"

"My Rokujuuyonshou and Kaiten are severely lacking. I need to quickly increase my performance with them" she stated. "I request for another weekly training session with you, father."

Hiashi sighed.

"It is a good idea, but I'm afraid, I will not have any spare time to honour that request" he said.

'Not with training Hinata as well' he added in his thoughts.

"Not a problem" Hanabi answered. "I want for this session to replace one of our regular ones."

At this Hiashi stopped writing altogether and looked at her.

"That would mean that your other skills will suffer" he remarked.

"Not at all, I will just train my other skills with someone else" Hanabi replied, turning to leave. "After all, my team will have a lot of time to spare between missions."

"I see..." Hiashi returned to his scroll. "I will grant your request. You may leave."

Hanabi bowed slightly in sign of gratitude and then left the room. She lost the bet, but maybe she managed to upset her father with her request. Ah... the little victories.

Little did she know about a small smile that graced Hiashi's lips after she had left.

**(* * *)**

**Phew... That KonoHana scene there proved as difficult as I anticipated if not more, but finally looks like I wanted it to look xD.  
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**So we have our team "ready" for future missions and Konohamaru realizing his future heart problems.**

**Anyway, the first act on the story is officially finished!**

**Currently I have mostly the general plot outline and further chapters are in the making, so it might take much longer to post the next part. I hope all of us (me included) will remain patient. The future chapters might be shorter as well.  
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**Don't forget that reviews can always increase my writing speed, so don't hesitate and drop me one of those! All constructive opinions, notes and ideas are appreciated!**


	8. B-rank mission

**Hello, everyone!**

**Sorry for the delay, but here I bring you the latest chapter of the Flowers of Tress.**

**The delay was caused mainly by 4 things. 1) I was sick, not very serious, but disturbing enough. 2) Lack of time, a lot of work, my lack of organization skill and time management. You know what I mean. 3) I have problems with plot details and as usual I ended writing more than I intended. And 4) English is foreign language for me, so even when I write something it goes slowly...**

**And I would like to answer Master1941: I have no intention of discontinuing this story. I didn't forget about it and I'm once again sorry for the delay. You might want to get used to that delay, though :/**

**Okay, without further ado, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: as per usual.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

"So..." Tsunade said, lifting her gaze from the sheet of paper she was reading and looking at the team in front of her and Iruka. "That's your mission report?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Ebisu answered a little sheepishly, tossing a quick glance at his team.

Konohamaru was standing next to Ebisu, close enough to be effectively scolded the moment he tried to pull off something stupid, which he tended to do a lot in front of the Hokage. He seemed oddly calm as of late though.

Next was Moegi, who seemed angry and Udon, the latter serving as a way to separate Moegi from Hanabi. The Hyuuga girl was calm and collected as usual, but Tsunade could tell she was more than a little peeved as well.

"Well, the report says that you managed to retrieve the stolen goods, well most of them anyway" she continued. "And it does mention the group of renegade genin ninja responsible for this theft, but the report doesn't say anything about you eliminating this group..."

"Well..." Ebisu started slowly. "We managed to engage and capture some of them close to the village, but the rest seemed to run away before we reached their base."

Tsunade and Iruka both raised their eyebrows. "Your team failed to ambush and apprehend a group of genins?"

"Well, my team can do the job when it's together with me, but we had to split in two groups and such teamwork still needs improvement it seems" Ebisu answered, eyeing Moegi and Hanabi partially explaining their bad mood.

"Hokage-sama" Hanabi started, bowing a little. "I'd like to apologize for the incompetence of my team and..."

"Your team?" Moegi turned to the Hyuuga girl, mildly surprising her. "You're the one who lacks teamwork and for your information, this is NOT your team! You don't own us! Let me go!" she barked at Konohamaru, who he tried to stop her, making him jump back in fear. Udon stepped back as soon as Moegi shouted, leaving the orange-haired girl and the Hyuuga face-to-face.

"It was you who couldn't follow my orders!" Hanabi answered back, her tone surprisingly raised in defence.

Iruka glanced at Tsunade fearfully, but the Hokage looked oddly calm, safe for a little brow twitching every now and then.

"Your orders?" Moegi stepped forward. "Are you deaf? You're not the leader here and I'm not your servant! I had a better plan of action, but you just had to-"

The things seemed to escalate quickly, but the dispute was instantly stopped the moment Ebisu grabbed both chuunins by their collars.

"As far as I know, I am the leader of this team" Ebisu stated, the twitching of his brows visible despite the glasses. "And you will stop this bickering this instant or else I will resume your previous punishment!"

At this all four teenagers shuddered briefly. No-one of them wanted to spend another afternoon listening to Gai and Lee's "youthful" ramblings.

Moegi snorted and backed off, stepping as far away from Hanabi as possible. Udon sheepishly returned to his previous place, clearly uncomfortable between the hot anger of his crush and the cold stare of the Hyuuga. He sighed.

"Oh?" Tsunade remarked. "You have now four students, yet it seems you still managed to retain your authority pretty well. I'm proud of you Ebisu" she finished smirking.

Not even Iruka could tell whether Tsunade wanted to sound sarcastic or not, but he was certain that Ebisu was looking daggers at her right now.

Hanabi once again looked calm and collected, but she was still peeved inside. She knew better than to further argue in front of the Hokage. It could be bad for her future career. That, however, didn't change the fact, that she was angry.

During the last week of working with her new team she had managed to completely lose all traces of respect she had for them after the bell test.

Well, to tell the truth, getting Udon to work with her was easy enough, as he never resisted much. He just had too little skill to work with her in the first place. Ebisu-sensei was the most competent of the group, being her superior and all and much more reasonable. Still she was not quite satisfied with his demeanour.

Konohamaru was worse. He was always seeking attention and wanted to have things go his own way, which irked her to no end. In fact, he was more quiet than usual, but Hanabi had not known him long enough to notice this, unlike his old teammates.

And as for Moegi...

Ghhrrr... The very thought of her made the inner peace Hanabi tried so hard to maintain shatter instantly. It's not like they didn't try to work together. They did, since she and Moegi both knew that the team needed results. But the effects were awful, as both girls were driven by some force ordering them to prove their superiority over the other. Moegi may not posses the Byakugan or any other kekkei genkai, but she sure displayed a great deal of passion and determination. Hanabi deemed those unnecessary, setting them aside and putting her trust in pride and concentration instead. Yet, it seemed that Konoha shinobi often relied on their determination and willpower as proved by Naruto, Konohamaru and now Moegi.

True be told, Hanabi probably understood the reason that driven Moegi (for the most part, anyway) to fight her: she was stronger, faster, more skilled and had the Byakugan. Moegi had every right to be jealous, which just so happened to result in unprofessional behaviour. What Hanabi did not understand was the reason she reacted so strongly to the competition. Moegi was no rival for her and could not surpass her. So why was she so wary of the orange-haired chuunin?

Whatever the reasons, their performance as a team was still far from satisfactory. During their training sessions they practiced teamwork and Hanabi didn't really have time to learn any of the skills her father wanted her to learn.

As for the missions...

Well, they were all rather successful. What was wrong and, for Hanabi, completely humiliating was the fact that they were mostly D-rank missions. Hyuugas don't do D-rank missions! The first mission she did was a C-rank one with her father and clan members. Yet, she had no right to oppose the Hokage and her father didn't ask for the details, so she endured it for now.

Ebisu-sensei insisted that Hanabi train her teamwork through practice, pairing her with either Moegi or Konohamaru and the latter had the ability to mess up even simple missions with his idiotic habits. Hanabi shook her head a little. The boy had quite the potential, at least for a non-Hyuuga, yet he seemed incapable of unleashing it properly due to his lack of self-restraint and discipline.

And then was that C-rank mission when she and Moegi failed to reach the base of the enemy on time, because of Moegi's inability to follow simple commands. At least they had accomplished the last mission.

Ebisu seemed to have the same opinion on the topic.

"Hokage-sama" he started. "The mission's briefing spoke nothing of enemy ninja, therefore it was higher than C-rank and we were supposed to retrieve the stolen goods, which we did. Moreover, the locals seemed pleased with our performance. I consider this mission duly completed."

"Higher than C-rank? Are you trying to imply that your team is ready for a B-rank mission?" Tsunade mused.

Ebisu was about to politely deny, but was beat to it by Konohamaru.

"Of course we are! We are four chunnins and one jounin, for Kami's sake!" he shouted.

Udon and Moegi looked at him hesitantly. Hanabi and Ebisu glared at him openly. And Tsunade just smirked.

"Are you now?" she asked. "We have just proven that your teamwork and leadership skills are lacking."

"But Ebisu-sensei is our leader!" Konohamaru spoke back. "He knows how to keep us in line, right?". Tsunade remained silent. "C'mon! We are five people! Five! I'm sure we qualify just by numbers alone!"

"Konohamaru-kun" Moegi decided that further irking of the Hokage was unadvised.

"Konohamaru!" Iruka came to the same conclusion. "Stop that this instant! It is not your place-"

"He may be right actually" Tsunade remarked.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Six pairs of eyes looked at the Hokage in disbelief. Konohamaru and Hanabi included.

"Just as our little Hoakge wannabe said" Tsunade smiled sweetly. "We have a team of four chuunins and a jounin and your previous mission was indeed accomplished as per request. As your reports states you seem to be quite good at retrieving things and there is also one Byakugan user in your team. I just might have a B-rank mission for you. Iruka, hand me the scroll from before, please."

(* * *)

Hanabi was inside her room, gathering supplies for her mission, recalling the words of her sensei from fifteen minutes ago. The request mentioned by Tsunade was an urgent one that required quick response. Therefore, she was to meet her team at the village gate in 45 minutes ready to set out. Moreover, this mission was a B-rank and was supposed to last more than a day. Both were actually new to her.

She quickly went through the mental list of the most important things, while packing her stuff. Emergency food rations. Check. Bedroll. Check. Kunais and shurikens. Check. Everything seemed to be in place, yet she couldn't help, but feel a little nervous.

It was her first real big mission and without her clan to pamper her all the time. She was used to attention and understood the reasons for fake smiles and polite gestures of those around her. This, however, didn't mean she liked it. Now was her chance to prove that she was a valuable asset to the village. That she was stronger than Hinata-neesan. Maybe even stronger than cousin Neji.

And that meant there was no room for mistakes this time. She will not allow anything to get in her way.

With this and her clan informed of her mission she left the Hyuuga compound and headed for the gate.

(* * *)

When she arrived at the gate fifteen minutes before the time the only ones already assembled there were Ebisu-sensei and Udon. Not really surprising as they were the ones most organized in the group. Except her of course. On the other side, they might just live close to the gate.

"There you are" Ebisu greeted her. "Are you sure you've got everything you need?"

Hanabi shot him a small glare. What was he implying? She knew what to take with her! Although now she had the slightest of doubts, going once again through the list in her head.

"Yes" she answered after a moment, passing by her team leader and putting her backpack on the ground. Udon stood close to Ebisu, watching the street. Hanabi guessed he looked out for his friends. In her opinion he should really focus on improving his individual skills instead of relying on those two. She briefly wondered if this was his first B-rank mission, just as it was hers.

Moegi arrived shortly after and Ebisu asked her the very same question he asked Hanabi, making the Hyuuga angry in the process. Why was she getting the same treatment as this orange-haired weakling? On the other hand, seeing Moegi being scolded seemed right for some reason.

Of course Hanabi had expected for Konohamaru to be late for sure, so she was mildly surprised when she saw him arrive only five minutes later.

"We're all here then I see" Ebisu stated the obvious. "Good, let's not waste any more time."

"Tch, why didn't sensei ask you if you forgot anything?" Hanabi said to Konohamaru when she noticed the special behavior he was receiving.

"Easy" she heard Udon answer her question. "There's no point in asking. Konohamaru-kun always forgets something, so it's safe to just assume that."

"That's not true!" Konohamaru snapped. "It happened only once or twice!"

"Yeah, right... I should've known" Hanabi said, clearly disappointed with him. She expected Konohamaru to immediately start arguing, but he surprised her again when he shut up and went red with embarrassment. Then he shot an angry glance, which strangely, was aimed at Udon, then turned around. Hanabi has never seen him admit defeat and this easily. This actually meant that she was gaining advantage over everyone else in the group, yet for some reason she didn't feel the sense of accomplishment she expected.

"Okay, enough with this! We move out!" Ebisu ordered.

(* * *)

They ended up travelling for the most of the day, heading for the Land of Earth.

In the beginning it was easy enough. They ran through the forests surrounding Konoha, mostly jumping through trees and foliage, bouncing off branches with every step. Ebisu was leading the way and Hanabi stayed close behind him, checking her surroundings with her Byakugan every now and then. The Konohamaru's corps followed a few meters after them. Hanabi was sure they joked and fooled around, yet they didn't lag, got lost or even made any significant noise. Thanks to the Byakugan they managed to avoid any encounters with travellers and other shinobi.

After four hours they stopped to take a break, especially when Moegi pointed out that they covered a lot of ground already. This made Hanabi disrespect the orange-haired girl even more. If she couldn't handle such a trip, then she clearly wasn't fit to be a shinobi.

A few hours later, however, Hanabi was forced to take that back, even if only inside of her head.

The terrain around them changed. The lush woods were gradually replaced with plains, grass fields and then hills. This really shouldn't be surprising, she should have expected that not everywhere there were forests like around her home village.

Of course, the new terrain was not bad just by itself. It was actually easier to maneuver than when jumping through trees. The problem was that because of this the rest of her team now started to run faster. The change was not very significant at first, but when Hanabi saw the skyline of the mountains on the horizon she quickly realized that short missions near the village with her clan have not prepared her for this.

Evening came and soon the small hills were replaced with a multitude of varius rock formations separated by vast empty spaces and as incredulous as it sounded, Hanabi started to slowly fall behind.

"What's wrong Hanabi-chan" Moegi chimed sweetly when she slowed down to catch up with her. "You're not getting tired, are you?"

Before the girl finished talking, Hanabi already picked up her pace. No way, she was going to let herself by overtaken like that!

"Hey!" she heard a voice to the right, no doubt belonging to Konohamaru. "So we are racing now?" he stated more than asked.

"Are you stupid?" she hollered. "We're in the middle of an important mission and you want to play tag?"

"Oh c'mon, do you really have to be so uptight?" he accused. "There's nobody here from your clan or the village council, no need to keep the image all the time."

His words were accurate enough to make her narrow her eyes.

"Who do you thin-"

"Ebisu-sensei says we will make camp for the night when we reach the mountains and you saw no enemies around with your eyes, right? But, well, if you're not up for the challenge..."

It seemed that Konohamaru managed to push her buttons without her even realizing, because she instantly jumped at the chance to prove her skills.

"You're on!" she told him and immediately gathered chakra to her feet, speeding up and leaving him behind. She was aware, however, that she shouldn't underestimate him and sure enough he quickly raced after her.

In the end she won the race, though she started to seriously run out of breath near the finish. Of course she didn't let it show. Konohamaru, on the other hand, looked almost unfazed. Hanabi briefly wondered about his stamina.

"Not fair! You had a head start!" he obviously had enough energy to argue.

"Hmpf!" Hanabi snorted. "I'm just better and you're just a sore loser" she told him, but she had to admit – the rush of a challenge when she was running through the cool evening air was what she needed now.

"What did you say?" he asked, clearly offended. "Best out of three, c'mon, let's-"

WHACK!

Moegi hit him on the back of his head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked, by Moegi only passed him by, not looking at him at all, but throwing a wary glance at Hanabi instead.

"Okay, team!" Ebisu said when he finally reached them. "Let's make a camp here for the night. Hanabi and Udon you're the first to stand guard. Konohamaru-kun and me will change you later in the night."

(* * *)

Hanabi sat in the tree, sweeping through the surroundings with her Byakugan. She could understand the reasons Ebisu-sensei arranged the guard duty. Konohamaru obviously couldn't be trusted to stay quiet and awake if he was to stand guard with Moegi, Udon or on his own. She also understood that Ebisu-sensei wanted her to spend more time with the members of her new team and Udon was certainly a better choice then Moegi. At least he will be quiet while they kept watch.

Or so she had thought.

"Hanabi-san" he started quietly and gently, as if afraid of her snapping at him, making her roll her eyes. She was not THAT intimidating, this boy was just a wuss.

"I'm trying to focus and that tends to work best with silence."

"You know, this kind of behavior is exactly why you don't have any friends."

"Friends?" she asked. "And why would I need those? All I need is..."

"Your clan, your reputation, your skills" Udon interrupted her. "I know. I know."

Hanabi looked at him weirdly as if not exactly comprehending his last remark. Udon noticed that.

"Oh, you thought that I will be too afraid to speak up?" he asked with a smile. "I don't blame you. I'm not exactly brave or talkative person, but..." he paused for a moment and looked up into the sky, as if remembering some distant memory. "But you can't go for years around Konohamaru without the ability to speak your mind, or you'll be overwhelmed and probably go crazy. Trust me, I figured it the hard way. And I'm not the only one."

Hanabi stayed quiet for a moment, turning away and looking around for any suspicious movement around the camp. They were on guard duty after all.

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I think the problem with our team working together is coming from you not understanding the rest of us" she was about to answer him, but he continued. "You may view us as useless and weird, but the three of us could work quite well together. I think you should trust us a little more."

"You mean trust that girl?" she asked motioning in the direction of the camp with her head. "Sorry, but I don't think we-"

"I said you should try to understand us a little more. Personally, I have nothing against you" he stated waving his hands in front of him. "And I think we could work well enough. Konohamaru is used to being in the center of attention and he was always our leader aside Ebisu-sensei. I think he views you as his rival, but that's a good thing. That way you can both train and get better. I'm sure he respects you more than you think, at least concerning your shinobi skills."

Hanabi already knew of Konohamaru's potential, still she very much doubted he could be a rival for her. However, she decided to use Udon's talkative moment and get the information she needed.

"And what about the girl?"

"You mean Moegi..." Udon said slowly, looking at her carefully, as if she had offended him. "Well, I can't be sure about that, but she probably thinks you're jeopardizing her place on the team."

Hanabi clearly didn't understand.

"What do you mean?"

Udon hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to tell her about Moegi's feelings for Konohamaru. They never mentioned it and possibly no-one aside from Udon know. If he told Hanabi now, who knows how would she react? If Moegi learned about this, she would have his head. Furthermore, he doubted Hanabi would be able to understand it, she would probably just laugh in his face. So he decided to explain it the other way around.

"Well, she was the only girl on the team and went at her own pace, but now when you came along, I think she changed her expectations of herself."

"You mean she treats me as her rival as well?"

"Yes and no" he answered vaguely. "This is not just about shinobi skills. More like a competition between women. You never had any female friends, so I don't think I could explain this to you very well."

Hanabi was silent, feeling a sensation in her gut, mostly anger at herself for not understanding it. She hated not understanding things.

"Look I don't expect any miracles" Udon said. "All I ask for is a little more good will and understanding. Just be a little more friendly, okay? We are not your enemies. We are your teammates. We are here to help you out."

"Maybe you're the ones needing help?" she asked him.

"We do" he admitted. "But you need it too. More than you think" with this he stood up, jumped down from the tree and sat near the camp, leaving her alone as she wanted.

For the rest of her watch she kept on thinking about what she heard. Even hours later, when she and Udon switched with Konohamaru and Ebisu she had trouble falling asleep, unable to clear her mind. Her thoughts were keeping her awake. Or maybe they were her emotions, not thoughts? What was the difference anyway? It was all her father's fault. His, the Hokage's and Moegi's. They all were to blame.

And with those thoughts she finally fell into a restless slumber.

**(* * *)**

**Frankly, I'm not exactly happy with how things turned out. This chapter was supposed to be like "go to Tsunade, have a flashback, get a mission, go somewhere, make a camp" and it took me over 3500 words to write it. The conversation at the end was not planned, it just happened :P**

**Sadly, we still lack actual romance, but we will get there eventually. I promise. Let's just hope that the relations between Hanabi and Konohamaru will benefit from this mission.**

**As I said, the next chapter will probably take quite a while to post and I would like to ask for your support. I might need it.**

**Also virtual cookie for anyone (exluding ZelgadisGW) who spots the Hellsing Abridged reference. Update: one of the guest reviewers gets the cookie. Here you go [hands over the cookie]! Congratulations!  
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**Read and review!**


	9. Mission gone wrong

**Hello, everyone!**

**I present you with the newest chapter of the Flowers of Trees, a little shorter than usual though...**

**Disclaimer (encrypted using 1 right shift Caesar cipher): Mzqtsn adknmfr sn Lzrzrgh Jhrghlnsn.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

The evening had come a few hours ago, so the forest was dark and, for the most part, empty. Nocturnal animals were milling about, either hunting or evading hunters, making very little noise and staying alert. Alert enough, that they were able to sense the danger seconds before a lone ninja passed them by.

Or maybe it was because the shinobi in question was not exactly quiet all the time...

"Damn it!" Konohamaru said for what seemed like tenth time in the last five minutes. He bounced from a branch and landed in silence, save for rustling on the leaves. Before the sound completely quiet down he was back in the air and among the trees, moving quickly.

After all, ninjas were mostly nocturnal animals as well, choosing to operate at night. And they were also hunting or being hunted.

At the moment Konohamaru was hunting.

He leaped from tree to tree, but after a minute he lost the track again forcing him to land and adjust his bearings and cursing the dark once again.

And as much as he wouldn't like to admit it, the enemy was not that bad. They were running while carrying heavy objects, yet Konohamaru could not catch up to them. Not that he wanted to meet them at the moment. As long as they were moving he would keep his distance in order to remain unnoticed.

The only thing he was worried about was missing any tracks leading away from the main party and he prayed that none of the shinobis he was tracking was in fact going to separate.

Heck, even if he managed to notice it, how could he know whether the main party was the one he wanted anyway? The only thing he could do now was to keep pursuing them as long as possible.

No... as long as needed.

He cursed yet again remembering the events of the day that resulted in his current situation.

(* * *)

"Okay, listen up team!" Ebisu announced loudly to garner the attention of his pupils, especially Konohamaru whose short attention span was even shorter than normal thanks to his night watch duty.

The entire team quickly assembled around the makeshift map that Ebisu spread on a flat rock.

"According to the reconnaissance I have done with Hanabi the enemy base is located in old castle ruins here" he pointed at the map. "It's placed on a mountain slope, shielded by rocks. The base is well protected and there are many guards, though they remain hidden quite well. Hanabi detected over thirty sources of chakra, but that might not be all. With this direct assault is out of the question, therefore we are forced to use sneaking tactics, as our Hokage so well predicted." Moegi hand shot up in the air. "Yes, Moegi?"

"If they have so many shinobis, how come the Iwagakure didn't get rid of them yet?"

"We cannot be sure" Ebisu readjusted his glasses. "My guess is that hardly anyone comes to this place, so the Land of Earth doesn't even know of their presence. It's very likely that they've come here only recently and they'll move out soon enough."

"Wait" Udon interjected, making Konohamaru slowly shift his gaze from Moegi to him. "How do we know of their precise location if even the Tsuchikage doesn't?"

"The information was provided by our spies and the item to retrieve is of Konoha origin. Thanks to the alliance, we can move freely amongst the Land of Earth and as long as those shinobis are not loyal to Iwagakure we're actually doing Tsuchikage a favor. Let Tsunade-sama deal with the diplomacy part afterwards, our job is just to retrieve the item."

"Yes" Konohamaru agreed, more interested in the action than politics. "So what is this item we have to get?"

"It's one very important scroll" Ebisu explained. "It contains some valuable information, but that's not its only purpose" at this all four chuunins, Hanabi included, moved a little closer, like the act alone could reveal the mystery.

"What is it?" Moegi asked clearly interested.

"I am afraid I don't have any specific details and I think it should stay this way. However, whatever the other purpose of the scroll is, it grants the scroll very distinct chakra signature. Normal shinobi wouldn't be able to notice this, but with a Hyuuga" Ebisu gestured to Hanabi "and a little diversion we should be able to infiltrate the base, find the scroll and secure it."

Hanabi looked down and at the makeshift map. From the looks of things, it seemed that she was the key to this mission. Just another reason not to fail.

"So what's the diversion plan?" Konohamaru asked.

"I think the best plan of action is to divide into two teams. Team number one will try to sneak into the base and will get noticed on purpose. Then the team will create an uproar and will try to lure out as many of the enemy away from the base as possible, destroying some of the guard posts in the process."

"And then the other team will sneak in using the breach created by the first team?"

"Exactly" Ebisu confirmed. "We have to assume they will suspect something and will remain alert, but with the diversion we should be able to lead most of the enemies away from the ruins."

"So... who's going to be in the diversion team?" Moegi asked, voicing the question for everyone except Hanabi.

"Me, you and Udon" Ebisu replied. "Meaning that the infiltration team will be Hanabi and Konohamaru".

"What?" Hanabi asked. "Why? I can do this by myself and Konohamaru is much better at creating diversions!"

Before anyone else could voice any objections Ebisu spoke up.

"That's true, but I cannot let you go alone and the inside team must have no more than two people" Ebisu replied. "So one more person has to go with you. It is either me or Konohamaru and I can't leave those three" he gestured to the Konohamaru Corps. "On their own. This is the best solution and we will still use Konohamaru's clones to aid us in the diversion."

"But-"

"No buts. And you better work together. I'll know if you don't. And as for you Konohamaru" Ebisu turned to his oldest student. "This is a spy mission, so you better keep your voice down or else..." Ebisu stopped, leaving the unspoken threat hanging in the air though Konohamaru looked more offended than threatened.

"Any other objections?" Ebisu asked. It was clear that there were, but no-one was brave enough to further question a plan devised by a jounin.

"Okay, then. Let's get into details."

(* * *)

Konohamaru landed on a branch at the edge of the forest, gazing into vast plains before him. When he first encountered the forest he hoped he was heading back into the Fire Nation, though it seemed too early.

Now he had no clue where he was anymore.

Still, the enemy tracks were here nonetheless. All he should worry about now was keeping his distance and not being detected.

He resumed his pursuit.

(* * *)

The evening has already come when Hanabi reached the designated position behind a rock formation, shielded from all sides but one. The enemies couldn't see her, but she could see them clearly even from this distance.

"So... how are we doing?" Konohamaru asked, clearly revitalized by his daytime nap.

He landed beside her, yet Hanabi didn't have to move an inch to see him.

"Ebisu-sensei told you to be quiet."

"To keep my voice down" he riposted. "Which I did."

"Whatever" she didn't have time to argue with him, so she decided to follow Udon advice, just to help herself stay calm.

Still, his voice was one thing, his actions – completely different.

"Just to make things clear" she said, looking for any changes near the ruins. "When we get inside follow my lead and everything will be fine."

"Woah! Wait a moment there!" he replied a little louder. "I'm not very good at playing spy, but I can conceal myself if I need to. And I don't like such missions, so I will just be your bodyguard."

"I don't need one" she remarked, making him roll his eyes.

"Yeah, right..." he shot back. "The thing is, I will look after you in there, but let's make one thing clear" somehow his words made her turn her head to face him. "We are both chuunins and as far as I know my clan is not inferior to yours."

Hanabi remained calm, at least on the outside, though she didn't like what she was hearing.

"What did you just say?"

"Look, I'm not your subordinate or your servant, you can't order me around. I don't like such missions, so let's just get it over with. You search for the scroll, I cover you. We find it, we get it and then we go back to village and have a nice B-rank mission stamp in our files. How does it sounds?"

She narrowed her eyes, showing what she thought of his speech. He had a point though – in the end it was the result that mattered.

"Fine, just don't interfere with my work."

"Yes, ma'am" he replied quietly enough, so she couldn't hear him.

He sat down on some rock and tried to entertain himself without making much noise, which was a little easier since he didn't really have anyone to speak to at the moment.

He started to think about techniques to learn and practice, some of which his sensei would not approve of. At least officially. Well, Hanabi would definitely not approve of them.

This thought quickly brought him back to reality and he looked at the girl still absorbed with observing the ruins.

Liking anti-social girls sucked, Konohamaru was certain of that. He spent over a decade not liking any girl in particular, aside from the general (and perverted) appreciation of the female species and now he was stuck with this. Kami must really hate him, he thought, while looking at the back of Hanabi's head.

There was no wind, so her hair was not dancing in the wind like before, but even now he found himself admiring it, tracing her long locks with his gaze. Her nape. Shoulders. Back. Small of her back...

"Why are you looking at me?" she asked.

"Huh?"

She turned to face him, her Byakugan still activated.

"You were looking at me" she clarified, looking confused. "Why?"

Thank Kami she's anti-social, Konohamaru thought.

"Eerm... no reason?" he didn't intend for it to be a question.

She furrowed her brows, as if putting two and two together.

"You're lying."

No shit, Sherlock, he thought.

"What? Why would I-" he stopped abruptly.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she snapped.

He mumbled something, but she couldn't hear it.

"What was that?"

"Clone" he repeated. "One of my clones was dispelled."

(* * *)

A few minutes ago he passed a makeshift camp, where the enemy rested briefly. It seemed they were more careful now – he could still track them, but only because the moon was full and the terrain was open.

He hoped they would stop soon. He was slowly getting tired.

(* * *)

"We need to go" Hanabi announced, the adrenaline already pumping through her veins involuntarily. "The diversion has begun! We've got to go!"

"I heard you the first time" he replied.

They started to move towards the enemy base, hiding using rocky ravines and ridges, advancing only when Hanabi was absolutely certain no-one would detect them.

Not that anyone could.

The diversion seemed to escalate as three of Konohamaru's clones were dispelled now. Fortunately, he transformed the clones into various people, hoping to make the enemy believe they were being attacked by a large force.

Finally, they reached a lone ruined wall barely high enough to be used for cover. Konohamaru stopped with his back to the wall.

"How's it going?" he asked.

Hanabi remained silent for a moment and then replied.

"There's a lot of chaos, but it looks the diversion went well. I see a few of "us" and they managed to lure out five or six enemies. Maybe more" she explained. "How many clones did you make?"

"Five, but I think Ebisu-sensei probably added some on his own."

Hanabi bit her lip.

"The enemy is regrouping. We wait for another thirty seconds and then we start the second phase."

Konohamaru nodded his head. He then realized she can't see his face and opened his mouth to speak only to remember she could see him with her Byakugan.

That jutsu was definitely useful... even if more than a little creepy at times.

"Okay, we move" she commanded.

Konohamaru followed her, hoping that their next mission won't be another I-can-see-ahead-with-my-cool-eyes-so-I-give-orders type.

In a matter of seconds they were at the main wall surrounding the castle premises.

"Alright" Hanabi said, retrieving two explosive tag kunais from her pouch. "Ready?"

"Born ready" he assured, smiling and holding kunais on his own.

She focused on the positions of enemies for a moment.

"Now" she hurled her kunais and Konohamaru mimicked her. Four projectiles whistled through the air and landed far away from both chuunins.

A few seconds later the ground shook as two tags exploded and the next two enveloped a part of the castle in a purple smoke.

They stayed where they were, waiting for the second diversion to take effect.

"Well?" Konohamaru asked, clearly impatient.

"Some of them did not leave, but we can't postpone the mission anymore. Follow me."

"Alright" he replied. "You lead the way, I've got your back."

Hanabi only nodded in response. It seemed that despite their clashing and authoritative personalities they have managed to form a delicate equilibrium with her as the guide and him as the backup.

They jumped over the perimeter wall and quickly climbed to the second floor and onto the nearest balcony. A few seconds later they were already inside.

Hanabi informed them that the interior of the castle was complex and completely different from its outer appearance, yet Konohamaru was still surprised when he noticed short and narrow corridors and more than one stairway nearby.

"Okay, what now?" he asked.

"Quiet" she scolded him. "I need a moment to concentrate".

She formed a Tiger seal with one hand in order to focus, while Konohamaru reached for another kunai, looking around carefully.

"Don't worry" she said. "There is no-one nearby at the moment."

"I know, but that's not gonna comfort me when I can't see around the corners" he explained. "So I guess we're heading up."

"No" she deadpanned. "I can't see any chakra signatures or chakra barriers above us."

"You mean the scroll is on the ground floor?"

Hanabi shook her head.

"No, I don't think so, but the castle has a basement with a lot of tunnels. Maybe a dungeon" she said, continuing her observation and then she saw it.

"I found it. In the basement. Room with many strange objects. Probably a treasury, larder and lumber-room at once."

"So... which stairs do we take?"

"Neither of those here" she answered. "We go left, then we pass two rooms ad we'll use the stairs there. Be quiet from now on and keep close to me, there are some traps here."

Konohamaru obliged, following closely after her, though getting this close to her didn't make him as happy as it would in any different situation.

The enemy was still busy with getting situation back to normal, they could hear distant voices every few seconds. Despite this the descent two floors down went rather smoothly. Only once they were forced to freeze and wait until a shinobi patrol two corners ahead of them moved away.

Finally, they reached the entrance to the basement, only to find it was guarded by a ninja.

"I don't think he will move on his own" Konohamaru said, forming the Kage Bunshin seal.

"What are you doing?" Hanabi whispered.

"Do you have any other ideas?" he whispered back.

Hanabi furrowed her brows. "Fine, just attack from the other side" she said. "And be quick. Someone might come here soon."

Konohamaru discreetly created a clone and in a matter of seconds a chuunin of Konohagakure entered the room. The guard noticed him immediately and quickly deflected two shurikens thrown in his direction. The chuunin's eyes widened and he quickly turned on his heel and started to sprint away with the guard running after him.

Hanabi and Konohamaru moved instantly and a few seconds later they were in the basement.

(* * *)

He was standing almost motionless, gasping for air with his back pressed against a trunk of some strange mushroom tree, while looking around without moving his head.

Around him dozens of kunais and shurikens were embedded in the ground or surrounding trees, two of them even hit their marks, indicated by a cut on his cheek and a red stain on his chuunin vest.

He was able to see the trap, but he saw it too late. He managed to avoid one explosive tag only to end up in the center of a gale of blades.

Well, at least he could consider it some good news, as traps after all this time most likely meant one thing.

He was finally getting close.

(* * *)

"It really looks like a dungeon" Konohamaru remarked, looking at the narrow stone corridors.

"Yeah" Hanabi replied absent-mindedly, focused on their destination. "Okay, I found the way and there're no enemies or traps here. Let's go."

Sure enough, they quickly reached a large chamber. It was literally littered with things ranging from weapons and armors, through food supply to completely useless rubbish. The only spot with relatively little barrels and crates was a rather large tunnel entrance leading downwards.

"Can you see the scroll?" Konohamaru asked, overwhelmed by the amount of stuff before his eyes.

"There are other things with weird chakra signatures here and I don't see any scrolls... wait a moment" she paused. "Okay, I think I see it."

"Alright, let's grab it and get the hell out of-" he stopped abruptly when he saw Hanabi widen her eyes. He was about to ask what happened, but he didn't need to. He could hear it now.

Someone was coming.

"Quickly, get the scroll" he hissed.

"No time!" she replied. "Hide!"

She leapt behind one of the larger creates, more than twice her own size, but she quickly realized that with the number of the enemies approaching she will still be found. The crate in front of her was used for weapon storage. The idea of hiding amongst swords and kunais did not appeal to her in the slightest. But she had little choice – the enemy was close.

She lifted the lid and stepped inside, wincing when a sharp blade grazed her calf.

She looked around, to make sure Konohamaru was hidden as well. She couldn't see him at first, but then noticed that one of the rusted swords on the wall had his chakra signature.

So he has transformed himself. She decided to follow in his steps just to be sure. She made the necessary hand seals.

"Henge!"

Now she was just a Hyuuga-style ornamented pale blade. Unmoving.

Waiting.

First ninjas entered the chamber.

"I told you, we drove them off!" one of them said.

"That's what you think" the other barked at him. "They will return and one of them got close to this place and even managed to escape after that" they were clearly speaking about Konohamaru's clone. "This place is no longer safe, we must retreat to the main base and report."

"We retreat then" one of them, probably the leader, ordered. "Get everything we can use, leave the rest behind."

By now over over a dozen shinobis were milling around the chamber. Hanabi became alarmed when they started to hastily pick things up from the floor and throwing them into crates and barrels, only to pick them up when they were full. Not a few seconds later the lid of her hideout was lifted and another set of blades was tossed hurriedly all around her.

It was bad enough, but her heart completely sank when two pair of hands toppled and lifted her crate.

"Move, move, move!"

Konohamaru could only watch helplessly as they disappeared in the tunnel one by one, leaving him alone, except for his dark thoughts.

Hanabi has been captured by the enemy.

**(* * *)**

**So we have a serious situation here... I think I should write the next chapter quickly, cause I want to know what happens next xD**

**I would also like to know what you think, so rate, review and stay tuned for the next episode of Flowers of Trees!**


	10. Perturbations

**Hello, everyone! Allow me to introduce the next installment of the Flowers of Trees!**

**Frankly, I estimated this chapter to be about 2500–3000 words. Seems my calculations were a little... off...**

**I'd also like to thank for all your broadly-defined support, follows and favourites included.**

**Okay, onto the chapter:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, be it manga or anime. If I did the manga would probably suck, as would music in the anime. The animation style might have been better though...**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

Hanabi's first instinct was to jump out of the crate and fight her opponents. If Konohomaru joined her, and he would, being reckless, danger-loving idiot he was, they would be able to defeat the enemy ninjas. A few seconds later though she realized that her plan was not as brilliant as she first thought.

First, the enemy opted to escape through the tunnel and chose to move fast. The crate the two ninjas were carrying was shaking violently with every step, or more precisely every leap, they made. Hanabi mentally cursed herself for picking such obviously terrible place to hide – with every shake at least one pointed blade chose to introduce itself to her legs or arms, drawing blood.

She shifted herself in place, trying to catch some of the offending blades and then she extended her legs succeeding in keeping the most of the weapons away from her skin. Still, at least one blade grazed her side every few seconds and another one jabbed her in the back. And not to mention the one lower than the last.

Despite all that the situation seemed more or less stable, at least for now, so Hanabi chose this moment to assess the situation outside the crate.

She dared not use her Byakugan – it was a great technique, but it used a considerable amount of chakra. With the enemies as close as this it could betray her position and secrecy was the only hope she had for now.

So she decided to listen instead.

At first she didn't hear anything useful, but after a while the sounds changed. It seemed that the enemy got out of the tunnel and the leaps each ninja made were much longer now, accompanied by the sounds of feet clashing with the rocky ground. Every time her carriers landed the crate jumped violently, forcing Hanabi to brace herself.

A few minutes have passed and she was now able to recognize that different shinobi in the group made different noises when landing and bouncing. She deduced that the number of her enemies had to be at least ten... no, more like fifteen.

In this case trying to escape and fighting head-on on her own was most likely impossible, so for now she decided to wait.

The worst thing of all was that the target of the mission was left behind. Did it mean that the mission failed? No. With the enemy gone her team would simply get all the scrolls and return to Konoha – one of scrolls had to be the right one.

The only thing she had to do now is to survive and return to the village as well.

(* * *)

"DAMNIT ALL!" he shouted at the top of his lungs and listened for several seconds, but no answer came except an impressive echo.

He once again gazed at the rocky landscape before him for nearly a minute, eyes trying to find anyone. Anything.

To no avail.

He sat down on the roof on the top of the ruined castle and hid his head in his hands.

Everything went wrong.

His team was nowhere in sight and all his clones have been dispelled already. He made some new ones and tried to look for them, but he found no-one.

No Moegi. No Udon. No Ebisu. And no enemies.

All he found was some signs of battle, but no corpses, not even much blood.

This was really bad. Not only they didn't get the scroll, but their team had been scattered and Hanabi had been captured.

The last part was the one that really scared him. Ebisu was a jounin. He may be a closet pervert and not fully reliable, but he should manage and keep the Konohamaru Corps safe. But Hanabi? There was over a dozen enemies and they were heading to their main base, possibly meaning even more hostile shinobis. Of course the girl in question would tell him she could handle that much, but she obviously couldn't. And he couldn't risk that.

Konohamaru already concluded that liking the girl wasn't as pleasant as he originally thought, but this was much worse. His heart sunk when he imagined that she could get hurt or worse. And that was the last straw.

He couldn't wait for Ebisu-sensei anymore.

He came back to the basement and entered the tunnel. At first he moved slowly, checking for any hastily made traps, but he quickly picked up the pace.

The last rays of sunlight were hitting the mountain tops when he emerged from the well-hidden exit of the tunnel. Quickly looking around he realized that he was now a few hundreds meters away from the castle, but he paid it no attention.

Fifteen minutes after the capture his pursuit has begun.

(* * *)

Her eyes shot open and a short gasp escaped her lips, but she did not know why. I took her a moment to realize that she had fallen asleep. She tried to move and quickly noticed that her body did not listen to her the way it was supposed to. She felt sore and a few new cuts were adorning her legs and arms now. She had no idea how she managed to fall asleep among knives and swords.

It was then when she understood why she woke up.

The crate was not moving.

It was oddly quiet, but she could hear some voices and faint sounds, some steps once in a while. Did they arrive at the other base or were they just taking a break?

She risked and activated her Byakugan.

They were in a middle of some weird mushroom forest and the enemy was indeed resting. Now she could see that there were thirteen of them. She could also see that it was already dark. When she last time saw the surface it was late evening, the sun was close to the horizon. Just when has she fallen asleep? How long it was till sunrise?

Just how much time has passed?

Just then she noticed a few chakra sources approaching. She didn't have much hope to begin with, so she wasn't surprised when the sources turned out to be more enemy ninjas.

So I was nineteen of them, after all.

The newcomers jumped down from the trees and landed near their comrades. Conversation started. Hanabi strained her ears to hear what they were talking about.

"-shed setting the traps. Don't you think we're being a little too careful?" one of the newly arrived shinobis asked.

"We're too close to the base and we escaped without proper prep. We have to be sure anyone that follows us ends up dead."

Hanabi didn't like the sound of that.

"Okay" this one sounded like their leader. "We rest for another fifteen minutes and then we move on. But stay sharp!"

For a moment she thought about escaping, but it seemed that the guards took the last remark of the leader to their hearts – they were looking around constantly. There was no way she would be able to flee without a dozen or so pursuers running after her.

So she decided to do the only thing that came to mind – sit tight.

At least for now.

(* * *)

Konohamaru jumped down from the tree, nursing a bleeding cut on his arm. He walked to the chuunin lying on the ground. He didn't need to check his pulse.

The guy was dead.

Well, it was his fault for falling from such a height. Konohamaru turned around and approached the other shinobi propped up against a tree.

He was the one who slashed his arm and he was still alive, so he was the problematic one.

He had planned to evade the guard using the cover of the night, especially since the guard seemed not very experienced, probably just a genin, but he didn't plan for the second guard that attacked him without warning.

Looking back at it he did well enough – just a little, though painful, cut and two lost minutes. No big deal.

The sick feeling in his gut told him that his stomach did not agree with him. Or was that his heart? Konohamaru ignored both.

He was in a hurry, but he took the time to tie up and gag the enemy. When he was done he resumed his pursuit.

(* * *)

The enemy now seemed to slow down and moved quietly and more carefully, thus her crate did not shake as violently anymore, meaning no more new cuts or blood. Yet it did nothing to improve Hanabi's mood.

She did not like this.

This felt very calm and the slight swinging of her crate was almost like a lullaby, luring her into a false feeling of security. Still, she was not allowed to forget that there was nearly twenty hostile ninjas very close to her with the intentions of ridding themselves of all spies and obstacles.

Like her...

As the minutes went by and as the atmosphere became more and more serene she started to feel more and more anxious, something akin to a silence before a storm.

She slowly came to realize that she was alone.

The thought itself was strange. It seemed no different from her life in the Hyuuga compound. There she was surrounded by many relatives and they were often cold and not exactly friendly. Here she was surrounded by many enemies. In both cases, she was alone despite being among others.

Nothing new. No big deal.

So why did this feel different?

She knew why. The Hyuuga compound with its walls and inhabitants was nothing more than a cage. Her father who demanded the best, her sister who somehow managed to improve and, of course, the elders. With every day she felt that the walls of the compound were slowly moving closer.

That's why she aimed to be the heiress – the head of the clan had much authority in the clan and even in the village council. Of course this required a lot of work and brought a lot of new responsibilities. She would be forced to dress in a certain way, meet certain people and marry politically. She would be a little more free and capable of deciding about herself. Of course, the elders would still hold some power over her, but its the same for any other clan member, so being the heiress was really the lesser evil.

She wondered if her father, sister and Neji thought the same. It was very likely. Afterall, Neji died in order to free himself and he chose the fate himself, breaking himself free of his curse. Her father... well she didn't know much about him, but the most intriguing was her sister.

Hinata was always shy and uncomfortable around people. She was weak, so she needed others to keep living. Her team was very strange: her sensei was a genjutsu user, while her teammates were an animal freak and, Hanabi shuddered, a bug freak. But, perhaps, Hinata managed to find some peace of mind during her missions with her team. As a failure of the clan she could actually be considered not important and left alone, free to treasure every moment outside the compound. Thus, Hanabi had no idea why Hinata decided to fight for the position of the head of the clan and she apparently tried to maintain good relations with Hanabi.

Hmph! As if that could happen!

Back on the track, Hanabi also thought about resigning from the position of the heiress, especially since she was the second born, but she knew that this was useless – she was too talented and too important and everyone already realized that. No escape for her this way.

So she tried to get some freedom by confining herself to her own room. In fact, she has actually embraced loneliness – in her own room the walls were close, but they were not coming closer and in there she could do whatever she wanted. Well, most of it anyways, it's not like she could decorate the room as she saw fit. So, she decided on a simple and austere, yet effective decor. Thus, her room became a kind of her personal haven – almost no-one ever came here. The only exception was the servants and they never failed to knock and be polite.

Her little kingdom. Dependent on and endangered by the surrounding countries, but her kingdom nonetheless. And this crate was not her kingdom, nor her chariot. Here she was not only alone, not only constrained. Here she was completely imprisoned as well...

The only thing she could do now was wait accompanied by nothing, but the gentle rocking all around her...

(* * *)

Finally.

That was the only word that came to mind and that particular moment when Konohamaru stuck his head out of the branches and observed the well-hidden guards near the even better hidden entrance.

Finally, he's found them.

Now all that was left was to barge in, grab Hanabi and run away. All this without knowing the layout, the traps, the number of enemies and where the Hyuuga girl actually was.

Still, he had to do this.

During his chase he was wondering how those ninja managed to move so fast while carrying heavy supplies. Even knowing the way would not help them do that. There was only one answer that was logical and easy even for him.

Soldier pills.

These shinobis were well supplied he thought, while searching for something in his ninja pouch. When he found it, he opened his hand and looked at the small capsule lying innocently in his palm.

But they were not the only well-equipped ones.

He gulped down the pill and then started planning ahead.

He wanted to get inside unnoticed after all.

(* * *)

A loud noise woke her up from her sleep and she snapped her eyes open only to see darkness. She panicked for a moment, but then remembered that she was still inside the damn crate.

And she's fallen asleep. Again.

What kind of chuunin was she? What kind of a shinobi was she?

And where was she anyway?

Another noise broke her out of her thoughts.

"Be careful" she heard someone scolding. "Some of this stuff is really fragile."

"The boss said to unpack and sort this quickly" someone else complained. "It's better if we work fast."

Stuff? she thought. Unpack? That meant they had arrived at their destination. She made a handseal again and activated her Byakugan to look around.

What she saw was a chamber looking like a cavern with most of the crates and barrels she recognized from the castle present. Two shinobi were moving around among them, checking their contents and one more enemy was standing guard near the entrance. The ground was already littered with some stuff from the other crates. The entire chamber was not very large, but it connected to some other, larger ones.

An underground base.

It looked crude and with not much lighting, but it was massive and the tunnels were a little to conveniently placed for the entire thing to be accidental.

The entire cave was most likely dug out by those shinobis, probably Iwagakure missing-nins from after the war.

Her stomach dropped down unpleasantly when she realized what that meant – she slept through them bringing her down her. This was ridiculous and unacceptable. Even if she was tired.

Just how many chances to escape did she miss?

"Okay, let's get this over with" one of the ninjas said. They both were getting closer and closer to her crate. Hanabi looked around and grabbed the first pair of kunais she spotted.

"Man" they were really close now. "This one was really heavy" the first shinobi placed his hand on the crate with the intention of taking off the lid.

"Yeah, I bet there's something really troublesome insi-"

The shinobi stopped abruptly, as when the lid came off, the air around them was filled with knives and wooden handles flying in all directions.

Hanabi was also in the air, among the hurricane of blades.

She threw two kunais at the one who spoke, the shinobi in question was too slow to rise his guard – the knives embedded themselves into his body.

"What?" the one with the lid dropped it, but he was too late as well – Hanabi spun in the air and kicked him in the face. Then, without stopping she grabbed one kunai still in the air and rotated, plunging it in his stomach.

She landed on the ground and immediately jumped again, avoiding several kunais thrown by the guard by the door.

"Alarm!" he shouted. "There's-" he was cut off when Hanabi threw her own shurikens. He dodged easily and wanted to scream again, but Hanabi was already in position.

Hakke, Rokujuuyon Shou!

Barrage of strikes rained down on the shinobi. After 25 strikes Hanabi stopped and the shinobi fell to the ground unconscious. She looked around making sure that the other two enemies were out as well.

Killing them will not help her and she mustn't waste time. She started tu run immediately, using her Byakugan to help her navigate in the caves. It was then that she realized the bad news.

She spent quite some time in a small crate without food and with little sleep. Moreover, her body sported quite the number of small cuts and bruises. She thought it was nothing terrible important, but now she understood the two crucial effects all this had on her battle capability.

When she was in the crate she felt no pain aside from the general tiredness. During her short clash with the enemy everything seemed fine as well. It was only now, when the adrenaline was momentarily gone, that she realized how weakened she was – deprived from nutrients and movement for several hours. Her entire body was aching when she moved. Her breathing was also louder than she wanted it to be. She was surprised she actually managed to pull off that stunt moments ago.

But that was less important part. The real problem was her shrinking chakra reserves and lack of stamina. With horror she noticed that the regular range of her Byakugan was reduced to no more than twenty meters. Any more than that required considerable chakra, concentration and strained her eyes.

She was always confident in her skills, but she realized that with all hard training sessions with father and Neji she was always tired after the battle, never before it.

Calm down, she told herself. Be calm, steady your breathing. Be quiet. Observe your enemies, anticipate their movements, outsmart them and everything will be fine.

She moved through some corridors and quickly located a passage leading up. A lone shinobi was just going down, so she hid around some dark corners and waited till he moved away.

She quickly climbed up and used the enhanced version of the Byakugan to quickly look around the area and find the way to the surface. I worried her a little that she still couldn't see the sky, even thirty meters above.

She started to move again and ascended through another two strange floors. Here she managed to walk no more than twenty meters, when she spotted three shinobi running from the corridor to the left. She quickly entered the first empty room she found and planned to wait again, but...

"Search every nook and cranny" one of the three said.

"Do you really think that one brat could get that far in that amount of time?" the other asked.

"That brat managed to get inside our base" the first one riposted. "That alone is enough."

Hanabi's eyes widened. How did they know about her? She came from below. Did anyone already found the shinobis she just beaten?

"Check the other rooms!" one of them said. The two other shinobi turned in the direction of her hideout. Hanabi grabbed one of her own kunais.

She launched her attack the moment the first shinobi entered the room. She had planned to surprise him, but she didn't know he would be that flabbergasted. She struck him with the Juuken on his solar plexus and he dropped to the ground.

"Hey" the other one shouted, only a little less surprised than his comrade. "It's a girl!"

He tried to kick her, but she spun under his leg and struck his stomach with both hands. She quickly faced the third one only to see that he pulled out some explosive tags.

"Take that you little b-"

Suddenly there was an audible "thud" and the ninja fell the ground, unconscious, showing the one who hit him.

It was Hanabi's turn to be flabbergasted. She opened her mouth and closed it once, but no sound came. She watched as the ninja grabbed the tags from his enemy and put them in his own kunai pouch.

Hanabi finally found her tongue.

"You!" she shouted.

"Is this your way of saying 'thank you'?" Konohamaru asked. "And I think you should be a little more quiet, don't ya think?"

"Thank you?" she repeated. "What for? And what are you doing here?"

He looked at her surprised. Now she had a chance to study his face. He did look tired, though she had the feeling it was mostly psychical weariness, but his features sharpened once he processed her questions.

"What am I doing here?" he asked almost as loudly as she did. "How about trying to save your little ungrateful ass? Maybe that's what you should thank me for? How about 'thank you for caring and actually helping me'?"

"What makes you think I need help" she felt offended.

"How about you being alone in unknown place with Kami knows how many enemies around" he countered. "And tired" he added observing her breathing.

"I am not tired!" she defended, though she felt he could see through her bravado. She needed to quickly change the subject. And she found a perfect one.

"I was doing fine, until you butted in and blew up my cover!" she accused. "If you never came here they wouldn't know about me till I was gone."

"Yeah, right" he replied, his gaze hardening. "Until they found bodies and then looked around the woods and found you before you could get your tired ass out of here."

"I am not-" she was cut off when she noticed new enemies approaching. "We've got to move!" she commanded.

"This way" Konohamaru said, already on the move.

"How can you know?" she asked.

"I've come down here, haven't I?" he answered.

"Go left!" she hissed. He didn't object.

"Do you know how deep underground we are?" she asked when they reached and hid behind some corner.

"Can't be sure" he answered. "But no more than few floors."

At this Hanabi once again reinforced her Byakugan and looked up. At last, she could see the surface and the dark night sky littered with stars. However, she noticed something else.

"You made shadow clones?"

"Yeah" he answered, while looking around.

"Did you think you could fool them into thinking there are many of us again?"

"No" he replied. "But I made looking for us much more difficult" he turned to her and furrowed his brows. "What happened to your eyes?"

"Nothing!" she replied quickly and brought her Byakugan to its reduced range.

"You're lying" he said, mimicking her words from several hours ago, which didn't go unnoticed by her. She needed to change the subject. Again.

"By the way, where are the others?"

At this Konohamaru looked to the side.

"I couldn't find anyone. Moegi, Udon or even Ebisu" he admitted slowly. "But I think they are fine, we'll find them later."

"And do you even know where we are exactly?"

"I guess between the Lands of Earth and Fire" he said. "But I didn't see any landmarks... it was dark."

She looked at him. "How long did it take for you to get here?"

"At least 7 hours."

"You were running for half a night and you're telling me that I am the one tired?"

He put his hand into his pocket and then extended it to her. She saw what looked like...

"A soldier pill" he clarified. "I wanted to offer you one, but apparently you're not tired" at this she took the pill and swallowed it quickly.

"You're welcome" he said dryly.

"Don't get cocky" Hanabi shot back. "It thought the soldier pills were supposed to give you enough energy for days" she remarked. "I certainly don't feel that way."

"Those are not that powerful" Konohamaru explained. "I think you should still conserve your chakra, at least-"

"Quiet!" she hissed, pulling him deeper into the shadows.

Seconds later two shinobis ran past them. Hanabi waited till they disappear into the level below.

"We can talk later" she stated. "Now, we need to get out of here" she commanded and started to move.

Konohamaru reluctantly followed her.

Hanabi feared their progress would stop after she met Konohamaru, but for some reason they managed to travel two floors up without running into anyone. She wondered about the reasons for that just when their heard some voices above them.

"What the?" Konohamaru asked aloud.

"Something's happened" Hanabi stated. "I will look around."

"Don't bother" Konohamaru said. "They are leaving this place. That's why we don't see them anymore."

"How do you know that?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Because that's what they were saying" he said slowly.

"You can hear what they were saying?" she was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah..." he said as if it was obvious. "You have good eyes and I have good ears. What's so strange about that?" he explained with a hurt look on his face.

Hanabi realize that this day, or night, might be too much for her after all.

"Whatever, let's move" she turned around and left not waiting for him, but with her vision she saw that he snorted and followed behind her.

It was just as he said – careful movement and five minutes later they reached the surface. Although she would never admit it out loud, Hanabi was incredibly relieved when she felt a cold night air hit her face.

There seemed to be no enemies around, so Hanabi stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.

At least open space. No more walls. No more corridors. At least freedom... at least until she returned back to Konoha. Back to the compound. Back to her room.

"Told you so" she heard Konohamaru say behind her, though his voice lacked the usual cheerful tone.

"And I told you that I would be fine by myself."

"Yeah, so the old hag can blame me when you die playing hero?"

"Old hag?" she asked back, realizing he was talking about their Hokage. "And who is playing hero here?"

Konohamaru was about to answer when a swishing noise cut through the air followed by a kunai embedding itself between them.

They both turned around instantly.

"I managed to take a Hyuuga off-guard before" someone said. "But I guess your sister doesn't count."

"Kiba!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

Indeed, Inuzuka Kiba was sitting atop his dog Akamaru with his fang-showing-smile. Hanabi recognized him as one of the members of the Kurenai team. Hinata's team.

"How did you find us?" Konohamaru asked.

"By your scent of course."

"I know that" the Sarutobi boy rolled his eyes. "I mean how did you know we were here in the first place?"

"We didn't. That was pure coincidence" another voice sounded, making Konohamaru and Hanabi snap their head only to see...

"Moegi! Udon!" Konohamaru smiled for the first time in several hours when he saw his friends and Ebisu emerging from the bushes ahead, accompanied by two Konoha shinobis Hanabi did not recognize.

"I knew you would be happy to see me" Ebisu said dryly seeing that Konohamaru largely ignored him. "Honorable grandson" he added.

"Don't call me that" Konohomaru shot back as Ebisu expected. "How did you all get here?"

"Well" Udon started, his clothes were a little disheveled and he sported a new cut on his cheek, but generally looked well. "We managed to make the diversion and didn't get hurt, but we were driven off and chased quite vehemently. It took as a while to return to the castle, but you weren't there anymore."

"Luckily, we literally ran into Kiba-san, Aoba-san and Shiranui-san who were going back from their mission" Moegi interjected him.

"Well, actually I picked your scent from afar and just wanted to say hi" Kiba said, while scratching his nose. "But I turns out my assistance was helpful."

"Yes" Moegi agreed then she turned to Konohamaru and Hanabi. "And what happened to you?"

"Well" Konohamaru started. "Our diversion worked too well and apparently our enemy decided to flee to this base, taking miss perfect here" he pointed to Hanabi, who narrowed her eyes. "With them locked in a crate."

"Wait a moment" Hanabi shot back. "I was-"

"And then I went after her practically half the way back to Konoha, thinking on giving her a little backup, but apparently our Hyuuga princess could handle it herself, so it was all in vain."

"Ooh?" Shiranui Genma mumbled quietly.

"Only one thing is correct here" Hanabi snapped, getting closer to Konohamaru. "I was doing fine and you only blew my cover and put me in more danger!"

"Danger?" Konohamaru asked, making a step closer on his own. "There's no danger for you anywhere! You can do everything on your own after all, right?"

Yamashiro Aoba smiled nervously, looking on faces of each member of the Ebisu team, like he expected them to announce than they were joking.

"Tch" Kiba remarked, needing nothing more than his nose to smell trouble in the air. Akamaru whined.

"That's beside the point" Hanabi snapped back. "You should just head back to the village with the" at this she stopped, remembering something. "How did you figure out which scroll was the correct one?" she asked.

Konohamaru laughed at that. "I didn't. The scroll was left in the castle" he pointed in pretty much random direction with his hand before continuing. "if we hurry we might still get it."

"You mean you abandoned the mission and left the scroll behind?" Hanabi hollered.

"Guys..." Udon said gently trying to get their attention.

"You were supposed to find the scroll" Konohamaru argued.

"It's not my fault they decided to move the crates" she riposted, taking another step forward. "In fact if I was alone I would find it quicker and retrieved it!"

"Guys..."

"So it was my fault?" Konohamaru stepped forward as well. Their faces were few inches apart now, which would be pretty suggestive if it were not for the anger clearly written across their features. "For going with you inside the castle and going after you when they carried you away? I was assigned your bodyguard and I did my job right!"

"You didn't even-"

"GUYS!" Udon shouted, which in itself was so strange that everybody else turned to look at him.

"We got the scroll."

"Huh? How?" Hanabi asked before Konohamaru even opened his mouth.

Ebisu unrolled a rather large scroll that Hanabi didn't notice he was carrying. When the scroll was unfolded she saw dozens of smaller kanjis for "scroll" placed on it.

"We simply took all of them" Ebisu said. "With item-storing techniques and no enemies to bother us it was actually quite easy."

"You see?" Konohamaru looked back to Hanabi. "The mission will be completed as soon as we get back to the village, despite that I tried to help you."

"I don't mind the trying part, but not when you butt in my business and make things harder" she barked back at him.

"That's it" he said, pointing a finger millimeters from her nose, making her take a step back against her will. "You want to be a mission hero, a model Hyuuga and an idiot who will get herself or maybe others killed?" he asked, at this point closer to a cold fury than hot anger. "That's fine, but I refuse to be a part of this. I have goals to accomplish, rivals to defeat and Hokage hat to get" he continued. "If you want to believe so strongly in yourself, then I won't stand in your way anymore. I will rather spend my time and skills, doing things that matter and that won't get me looking like an idiot" he emphasized the last part. "You're on your own as per your request, Your Highness!" at this he turned around and walked away.

Udon opened his mouth "Kono-"

"Konohamaru!" Ebisu called after the young Sarutobi his voice raised. "Get back here this instant!"

Hanabi then realized that she's never seen her sensei angry.

"Haa?" Konohamaru replied dryly looking at him over his shoulder. "Why?"

"I'm your team leader, I have authority over you" Ebisu stated the obvious.

"I don't need to be in this team" Konohamaru answered flatly. "I am a chuunin for Kami's sake. I can have my own team. Moegi, Udon are you going?" he asked.

Udon looked hesitantly at Ebisu, but then followed after his friend. Hanabi watched them and then she heard footsteps. She turned around only to see Moegi approaching her and then...

Smack!

Hanabi could once again see the boys, though she did not remember turning her head. Her cheek also stung painfully. It took her a moment to realize that Moegi has slapped her.

"Oh boy!" Genma remarked.

"You idiot!" Moegi shouted, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "You see what you have done?" she asked and then left her. "Konohamaru-kun, wait up!" she said, but Hanabi didn't hear her, too shocked to process the information.

"Perfect" Ebisu said slowly. "Just friggin' perfect! Why, Kami? Why?" he shouted to no-one in particular.

"I'll be damned" Kiba said. "From now on, I will believe in every story about stubborn kids that Naruto tells me..."

**(* * *)**

**Well, looking at the situation we have here and quoting one of my favourite movies: "_I think it's fair to say that our smoothly running facility has suddenly developed a few problems_". **

**Maybe except the "smoothly running" part...  
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**I recon that we won't be seeing much teamwork from our beloved heroes anytime soon...**

**Or will we?**

**If you'd like to find out then you should just wait for more. And if you can't wait, then you should probably drop me a review. Reviews and constructive critic is always appreciated!**

**See you next time!**


	11. Talks and revelations

**Hello everyone!**

**I present you with the freshest (and late, I know that) chapter of the Flower of Trees!  
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**Truth be told, I wanted to post this chapter over a week ago, but life got in the way. I was even outside of my country with little access to computer for a week. Imagine that!**

**Anyways, I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter... and I don't know why. Not much action here as well. Mostly talking.**

**For those that expect more romance and are already pointing guns at my head — be patient. And don't forget to read the author's notes at the end of the chapter!  
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**Okay enough said!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, manga or anime, outside this fan-based story. I am barely capable of holding my own life together :P**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

The four of them stood silently. Shiranui Genma was slowly chewing his senbon, seemingly completely undisturbed and laid back. Yamashiro Aoba was less calm, but this went mostly unnoticed, thanks to his glasses. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about Ebisu, whose anxiety was clearly visible and was increasing with the prolonging silence. Yet the one most uncomfortable was Inuzuka Kiba.

Maybe uncomfortable was not the best word. He was just bored. Him, Genma and Aoba had already presented the report of their mission to the Hokage. All that was left was the Ebisu's team. And maybe some jounin stuff. But Kiba wasn't a part of team Ebisu nor he was a jounin. What the hell was he still doing here when Akamaru was left off the hook immediately?

Being a dog had its perks. Apparently...

"I see..." Tsunade spoke finally, lifting her head from the second report, handing it to Shizune. "So that's what happened" she murmured to herself. "And Konohamaru refuses to work together with Hanabi?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Ebisu answered hastily. "I believe they simply have very different views on the purpose of a shinobi."

"One of them wanted to protect a comrade" Aoba interjected. "While the other wanted to complete the mission."

"But when something went wrong one of those things went beyond reach" Genma added. "This whole situation is just like-"

"Just like Kakashi and Obito a long time ago, I know" Tsunade finished for him.

Short and heavy silence ensued, with all present musing about the comparison and the terror of two previous Great Shinobi Wars.

"So..." Ebisu seemingly wanted to start the topic that was on his mind the entire time, his shaky voice being a proof of that. "What does that mean for the two of them and my team?"

"For now nothing, I think" Tsunade answered, receiving strange glances from everyone except Genma.

"Um... You're not going to punish them...?" Ebisu asked. "Or me?"

Tsunade shook her head. "You, Moegi and Udon are not responsible for this. As for Konohamaru and Hanabi... Well, it's easy to guess that the attitude of the Hyuuga clan is responsible for Hanabi's reaction. As for Konohamaru... I believe that after the deaths of Third and Asuma his behaviour is not unexpected. For the most part anyway."

"But Tsunade-sama" Shizune interjected. "Are you really going to leave it like this?"

"No" the Hokage answered. "For now we wait. Maybe the time will resolve this issue for us."

"With all due respect" Aoba interjected. "But what if Hiashi-san will request for Hanabi to be removed from the team?"

"After hearing her version he might" Tsunade admitted. "But not when he hears mine. Konohamaru might have not been exactly right, but Hanabi was definitely wrong. Well, I guess you cannot expect the Hyuuga to be the strongest clan without every shinobi they produce getting under our skin."

No-one denied that.

"And what about future missions?" Ebisu mused aloud. "What if this thing won't blew over by then?"

"Then I will take some actions." Tsunade said. "Fortunately, the Ebisu team is large enough for it."

She thought about the enemy shinobi that were in the caring hands of Ibiki right now. Who knew how far away from closing this case they were anyway.

"For now that's all. You may leave" Tsunade said. "Except you, Kiba."

The Inuzuka boy flinched and turned around, looking less than happy. What he was now? Some Naruto replacement or what?

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" he asked when the others have left.

"Don't worry, it's nothing about you or your performance on your mission" Tsunade calmed him down.

"Then what is it?"

"As far as I know, your sense of smell is even better than the ninja hounds, am I correct?"

"Yes" Kiba admitted. "But only when I focus my chakra."

"Did you focus it back then?" Tsunade asked.

This visibly surprised not only Kiba, but Shizune as well.

"Back when?"

"Back when Konohamaru and Hanabi were screaming at each other" Tsunade calmly explained.

Another short silence.

"Well?"

"I did" Kiba said reluctantly.

"And?" Tsunade prodded him. "What did you smell?"

"Blood, dirt, sweat, fear, anger" he answered. "But that's normal after such a thing. Even I and Genma smelled of most of those things after our mission."

"I am interested in something else" Tsunade said. "Did you feel any other scents?"

"Like what?"

"Like pheromones."

"Pheromones are scentless" Kiba remarked.

"I know that. And I know you are able to sense them anyway."

"Is this conversation going where I think it's going?" he asked.

"Just answer the question."

"I did smell something like that" Kiba admitted. "But it's may not mean anything, I wouldn't make any judgements based on that" he added quickly.

"Yeah, I know" Tsunade said slowly and went quiet for a moment. "Alright" she said finally. "I want this information to remain between us. And I mean it Kiba. That is all."

"It's strange" she remarked when Kiba had left.

"What is, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"For decades we have young shinobi teams" she answered. "And for decades we deal with the same problems. So why we're so bad at solving them?"

"Um..." Shizune hesitated for a moment. "Because this kind of... ugh... problems will always happen and we shouldn't be too hasty to barge in? Let them learn by themselves?"

"You're right" the Hokage remarked. "Let's just hope that two great talents won't go to waste because of that."

(* * *)

When she was walking towards the Hyuuga compound Hanabi was well-aware that her father would want to be told the details of her mission and she didn't look forward to it. The failure, that Hokage chose to call success, was a bitter pill to swallow on its own, but now she had to relive it again while reporting it. In the worst-case scenario father would choose to have the entire Hyuuga council hear it.

The council would be the jury, her father will be the judge. And she will play the defendant.

Or the convict.

So she was not surprised when she was directed to the hall the moment she entered the compound. She was also not surprised when she found out that her father was not alone in the hall.

What did surprise her however, was that the jury was not the council.

It was her sister.

Okay, she thought. Maybe she was wrong about what the worst-case scenario was...

"Welcome home, daughter" Hiashi spoke as soon as all three of them were seated on the mats.

"_Tadaima_, _chichiue_" Hanabi answered.

"W-welcome back, Hanabi-chan" Hinata said nervously.

Hanabi glanced at her sister suspiciously, her eyes growing cold. Didn't Hinata understand that one of them was supposed to be the heiress and that they were now more like rivals than siblings? Or maybe Hinata DID understand and this was just some trick to-

"I have been told" Hiashi interrupted her train of thoughts. "That your mission has been officially successful" he paused long enough to make her wonder how he managed to get this info so quickly. "But I also heard there were some... complications."

"Yes, Father" Hanabi admitted. "We have been tasked to retrieve a certain document, but the enemy has fallen back to another location and I was forced to... follow them on my own" she paused and when nobody asked for he to elaborate, she continued. "I was doing fine, until that Sarutobi kid interfered and blew up my cover!"

"Hanabi-chan" Hinata spoke, wary of Hanabi's tone. "I'm sure Konohamaru-kun just wanted to help and-"

"I didn't need his help" Hanabi answered back, trying to keep her cool, but not fully succeeding. "I was doing fine on my own!"

"You can't be sure about that!" Hinata raised her voice as well, looking somewhere between worried, peeved and compassionate.

"Are you trying to tell me what I can or cannot do?" Hanabi asked, her cold stare momentarily replaced by battle fire.

"Calm down, both of you" Hiashi said. He did not raise his voice, but both girls stopped dead in their tracks.

"Hanabi" he said after a moment. "I see you are yet to learn what you need to learn. I hope you will get better on your future team missions."

"Team missions?" Hanabi asked. "With all due respect, Father, the Sarutobi doesn't want to have missions with me. How do you expect me-"

"Keeping the team together is the responsibility of all team members" Hiashi interjected. "This includes the Sarutobi, Hayakawa and you, Hanabi. I expect you to continue doing your job and making your clan proud. And as for you, Hinata" the head of the main family turned to face his other daughter. "Try to keep you voice down. One spitfire in this household is more than enough."

At this moment, the doors slid open, revealing one of the Hyuuga female servants.

"Um... I'm very sorry to interrupt, Hiashi-sama" she said meekly "but the council is awaiting you."

"Yes" the head of the Hyuuga clan stood up. "We will return to this conversation later."

Hinata and Hanabi both nodded, stood up and quickly left the room.

They have walked in silence for a few moments. Both sisters were uncomfortable, but Hinata was the only one who actually showed it.

Finally, she decided to break the silence.

"Hanabi-chan, I really think that-"

"Spare me" Hanabi stopped her rudely. "And don't call me Hanabi-chan, I am not a little kid anymore!"

Hinata furrowed her eyebrows. "But you are my little sister, _imouto_..."

"No" Hanabi denied, making sure that they were the only ones in the corridor. "We're not sisters. We're two heiress candidates. We're enemies."

"I'm sorry to hear that you think of me like an enemy" Hinata answered with a sad voice.

"Don't try to bullshit me" Hanabi replied rudey. "You might have gotten points with the father, but I am still the more capable one the more talented one. You will lose in the end. Besides, why would you like to be the head of the clan? You clearly lack the confidence. You should just give it up."

Hanabi didn't actually expect Hinata to give up, but she expected some reaction or, at the very least, no reaction thanks to shock. However, Hinata smiled warmly, something that make Hanabi uncomfortable inside for some reason, and then shook her head.

"Yes, I am inferior warrior compared to you and I have never denied that. However, power and battle prowess are not the only things that count" Hanabi opened her mouth to talk back, but Hinata raised her head, looking her directly in the eyes.

"I think you misunderstand something. I never wanted to be the clan leader" Hinata admitted. "However, I know that the head of our clan should be responsible and patient. Do you really think you are responsible enough? That you can work with the council and respect your clansmen when you're not even good enough to be thankful for your teammates when they show you that they actually care about you?"

The last remark hit home. What did Hinata mean? That Konohamaru was supposed to help her when she didn't need it? Was she supposed to look thankful? Was she supposed to actually BE thankful?

"Since you were a little, you were treated like a future and capable heiress" Hinata continued, not noticing or ignoring the confused look on Hanabi's face. "You were always pampered. You didn't know any hardship beyond the training sessions and Father's coldness until the council started to question the choice of the future clan head."

"You don't know what it feels like when you're useless" Hinata continued. "How it feels when everyone else have expectations that you keep trashing over and over again. How it feels when everybody outside the clan think differently and expect you to honestly care for things you were always told to ignore. When you're not a Hyuuga princess, but a teammate that can't work with someone you consider lower than yourself."

"I love our clan, our people, but I hate their ways" Hinata confessed. "I want the Hyuuga to be a clan when clansmen are able to understand each other. That's a skill the Byakugan can't give you. That's a skill generations of shinobi were not able to discover. But Naruto did."

When her sister mentioned Naruto, Hanabi immediately realized something. Half of Hinata reminded her of Father – a man of tradition, someone who understands his clan and would do everything to protect its pride. On the other half, Hinata reminded her very much of Naruto – entusiasthic, with goals set high, a man who would make others happy at a cost of him being alone. Hanabi understood that Hinata really didn't want to be the heiress, but she would do it for the future of the clan.

"I will lead this clan for peace for both the clan and the village and when Naruto becomes the Hokage, I'm sure we will be able to change the clan. Even the council" she paused for a moment, possible contemplating her future tasks, before continuing. "And when you learn patience, responsibility and when you will start caring for other people beside yourself, I will gladly leave the difficult task of leading our clan to you, my beloved sister."

Though Hanabi wanted to be angry, she wasn't. She quickly needed to say something or Hinata would think she was speechle-

"I think, I'll head to the kitchen and help with the dinner. See you later, Hanabi-_chan_"

With this Hinata walked away and Hanabi was left with more emotions and less reasoning than ever.

(* * *)

Konohamaru was sitting atop a water tank, his gazed fixed on the face of his grandfather carved in stone into the Hokage Monument. It was late afternoon and a mild breeze played with the boy's scarf, but he seemed not to notice it, deep in his thoughts.

It was more than a day since his verbal clash with Hanabi, but he spent most of the time returning to the village or sleeping through the after effects of the soldier pill. So for him it felt like the whole thing happened only several hours ago. Back then he felt angry, sad and offended.

Now he was no longer angry. But the other feelings remained.

Granted, being unneccessary and not recognized for things he wanted to prove have always hurt. But this was worse. Now he was back to being measured just by the name of his clan and his grandfather. Back to being "honourable grandson" that wasn't needed and wasn't expected to do things.

And he hasn't been really trying to impress the girl... Of course, if a miracle happened and Hanabi was impressed and threw herself into his arms (like it could happen) he wouldn't complain, but he wasn't intending to impress her back then. And she still had tossed him aside, treaded him like unnecessary baggage. An obstacle.

And being unnecessary obstacle to her was a heavy hit.

"Hey" a voice suddenly woke him up from his reverie, making him turn his head only to see Udon landing a few feet behind him.

"I knew you would be in some unusual and insignificant place, but still it took me a while to find you" he stated.

"Unusual and insignificant?"

"Oh..." Udon remarked. "I meant 'places Moegi wouldn't find you in'".

"She's still looking for me?"

"Yeah, and I knew that you needed some time alone."

"Why are you bothering me then?"

"Well... I figured I needed to understand what happens in my team" Udon answered and sat beside Konohamaru. "So what happened back then?"

"You know what" Konohamaru stated plainly. "I went half-way through the Land of Earth and found her little sorry ass just in case she needed help and she pushed me aside as some useless luggage."

"Yes, that was really bad thing to do" Udon admitted, handing Konohamaru a can of soda that Sarutobi had never noticed his friend had. "And that's all of it?" He added after a few seconds.

"Yeah, that's it" Konohamaru answered back.

Udon went silent, waiting. Three...

Two...

One...

"You know what?" Konohamaru resumed his speech. "I think Moegi was right. That Hyuuga is nothing but trouble. Just a troublemaker, a walking menace."

"Sounds pretty much like a precise description of your pre-chuunin years" Udon remarked carefully.

Konohamaru didn't look happy to hear that.

"I was always a prankster" Konohamaru defended drinking his soda rather greedily. "And I just wanted to be acknowledged by the people as a proper shinobi and not just some grandson of someone important."

"And you think Hanabi is much different?" Udon stated, taking a small sip from his own can. "I bet she is just trying to impress her clan and her people. You know. The Hyuuga ways and traditions."

Konohamaru was about to answer him, but Udon continued.

"I'm not defending her actions. It was stupid and unprofessional, proving she's not capable of good teamwork yet" he remarked. "She did it to look professional and capable, though. Ironic, isn't it?" Udon wondered. "Besides, it took Naruto to change your view of your future, so it's not gonna be easy to change Hanabi either."

"Tell me about it" Konohamaru stated in a bored tone. "This girl just gets on my nerves! Nothing is never good enough for Her Majesty."

Udon listened. To him Konohamaru sounded more than hurt. Was he jealous? Of what? Granted, in one-on-one battle Hanabi would reign in the precision and discipline department, but Konohamaru was older and has seen much more. How could a guy who, despite the odds, boldly claimed to tread on Naruto's heels feel inferior to Hanabi?

She was younger and was a girl, but Konohamaru was never really one to pay attention to such details. He viewed any strong shinobi, younger or not, girl or not, as a possible rival, teacher or pranking material.

So what was the difference now?

"You know what?" Konohamaru mused aloud, seemingly not really caring whether Udon was listening to him or not. "I can't understand why she thinks she's so damn important. After all she's rude, cheeky, unemotional, ungrateful, stiff, cold, boring... Overly disciplined..." Konohamaru paused for a moment and the look in his eyes changed, seeming more distant. "And diligent and strong. And gentle... if she tries... And she's graceful. I'm serious! Like a swan!" he made what, for Udon, were completely random gestures. "And she's pretty... I mean like really pretty."

Udon went completely silent as Konohamaru continued his rant for a few more seconds until he noticed a shocked expression on his friend's face.

"What's that look for?" he asked.

"You've got to be kidding me" Udon whispered.

"What was that?"

"I can't believe this!" Udon said more loudly as if he didn't hear Konohamaru speak at all.

"You can't believe what? Make sense, dude..." Konohamaru stated and took a swig of his soda.

"That you're in love with her!"

Udon regretted his words immediately, as Konohamaru instantly spat out his drink and started coughing.

Startled Udon quickly patted his back.

"Are you okay?"

"WHAT THE HELL MAN!" Konohamaru shouted at the top of his lungs, making the glass-wearing boy flinch.

"You don't have to scream..." Udon reminded him.

"Me? In love with... with her?" Konohamaru asked incredulously. Udon nodded.

"What would you think that?"

"Well" Udon, started counting on his fingers. "You really try to help her... You're angry when she pushes you aside... You called her gentle, graceful and pretty with this dreamy look on your face..."

"I did not!" Konohamaru exclaimed in panic.

"You did too..."

"I did NOT!"

They were looking at each other for a few moments.

"Alright..." Konohamaru faltered, looking the other way. "Maybe I did..."

Udon opened his mouth-

"But I'm not in love with her, okay?" Konohamaru continued. "I am... It's just a crush."

"Yeah, right..." Udon said back, unconvinced.

"I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay! I believe you!" Udon raised his hands. "No need to get angry."

Konohamaru looked at him for a moment and then hid his head in his hands.

"You're right" he said. "I got myself into a mess."

Udon had to admit – it had been a long time since he has seen Konohamaru so down.

"I'm not judging you, you know?" he started. "Not that crushing on a teammate is generally a good thing... but I'm actually happy for you."

"What?" Konohamaru asked, confused.

"I mean... I support you, I'm on your side here!"

"My side is the losing side" Konohamaru admitted sadly. "What chances do I have at wooing an independent kunoichi from nobility who also happens to hate my guts?" he asked rhetorically. "But don't worry. Crushes come and go. This will be over soon enough."

Udon very much doubted it, but didn't want to bring it up.

"Just don't tell anyone about it, okay?"

"Sure thing" Udon answered. "You can count on me. We should keep it a secret. Especially from Moegi" he hesitated for a moment, but this had to be said. "I know this is probably going to come as a shock to you, but... she has feelings for you."

"Yeah" Konohamaru answered. "I know."

"Yes, so... Wait, what?" Udon cried out, surprised. "What do you mean 'I know'?" he asked incredulously.

"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Konohamaru shot back. Udon looked unconvinced again. "Okay, I'm not THAT stupid! I knew this for a long time. But Moegi is like a sister to me. I can't really see her as a girlfriend."

"And you didn't talk with her about this because...?" Udon asked.

"Because it would lead to a disaster?" Konohamaru answered.

"Fair enough... Well... Who would've known..." Udon wondered. "That means that everyone knows this."

"Except Hanabi" Konohamaru pointed out. "She probably has no idea why Moegi is so angry with her."

"You figured that one too? Then... maybe you should talk with her or something?"

"Are you kidding me?" Konohamaru freaked out. "You want me to get in between two angry, competing women? No, thank you, I like being alive."

"Good point" Udon remarked. "You know, I just never thought you would be so observant of Moegi."

"Moegi is not the only one I've been observing" Konohamaru stated, eyeing his friend.

"W-what do you mean?" Udon sweatdropped.

"Stop pretending" Konohamaru smiled weakly. "I know you had a thing for Moegi for a long time. I want you to know that you have my full support on this."

"Yeah, tell that to Moegi."

"Tell me what?"

At this both boys turned only to see said girl land on the rooftop. She didn't look happy.

"Oh... hey Moegi" Konohamaru greeted, with his hand scratching the back of his head. "We were just talking about how we have missed you and-omph!" he was cut off, when Moegi slugged him in the stomach.

"Missing me, huh?" the girl repeated with an angry look. "And that's why you have been avoiding me for the last few hours?"

"It's not like that..." Konohamaru answered, while clutching his stomach and looking at Udon for some verbal support, but the said boy stepped back. He could practically see the flames surrounding Moegi.

The girl only rolled her eyes.

"We will have to talk about this later. Now we have more important things to do."

"Like what?"

"Team Ebisu is to report to the Hokage immediately" she informed. "Let's go."

**(* * *)**

**So... Tsunade knows, Udon knows... and (as surprising as it gets) Konohamaru knows something too!**

**Anyways... we're getting to the end of the second arc. I suspect either one bigger chapter or two small ones (but the former is the most likely option). The summer break is upon us, meaning I should be able to post chapters more frequently, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. One chapter in two weeks is what I will end up doing... probably.  
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**As always I encourage all of my readers to drop me a review. This includes the one that did so already. Favourites and follows are appreciated as well.**

**See you next time (hopefully soon enough)!**


	12. Leaves and rocks, rain and storm

**Hello, everyone!**

**Here is the newest chapter of the Flowers of Trees!**

**But before you can immerse yourselves in the story, I would like to say a few things.**

**First of all, I am very happy about all your reviews, comments, follows and favourites. By all means, keep them coming!**

**Next... and this is really the more difficult part. This chapter was supposed to be short (2000–3000 words) and you see what it turned into. Including the author's notes its the second longest one so far. And for those of you who are not comfortable with that – I am truly sorry. It just happens and I really can't do anything about this.**

**To make matters worse, we still lack any definite romance (but we're getting there, I promise) and good part of this chapter describes other people than Konohamaru and Hanabi.**

**And the last issue. I will be figuring out the things for the next chapter, just to keep everything (almost) logical and solving some plot-holes (that you may notice in this chapter as well). Also I want to end the current arc with the next chapter... And I'm afraid that it might take some time and the result might be quite a large chapter (don't be surprised with 7000 words).**

**The bright side is that the next chapter is supposed to be important one, the most important so far, I believe. So be a more than little excited. I am.**

**Okay, enough talk.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto, Hanabi, Konohamaru... (static) and other characters and places (more static) belong to (indistinguishable gibberish). All rights reserved. End of tranmisssion.  
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**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

"Hokage-sama, everybody has been assembled!" Shizune announced as soon as she managed to somehow organize all the people on the rooftop of the ninja academy.

"Good" Tsunade stated simply and moved to stand in the front of four columns of a dozen people and a dog.

The first column consisted of Shiranui Genma, who chewed his senbon, seemingly completely at ease, Yamashiro Aoba, whose attitude was conveniently hidden by his glasses and Inuzuka Kiba, who was not too happy to stay the furthest from the front, not counting Akamaru.

The next trio was the Konohamaru Corps – Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi were looking rather similar to each other when they were not snorting, talking, pouting or flailing their arms around.

This, however, could not be said about the third group. At the very back stood Chouji, clearly visible thanks to his size. Ino, on the other hand, would be almost completely invisible in the middle if it wasn't for her long blonde hair. Shikamaru stood at the very front – clearly the most prestigious (and the most troublesome) position to be in.

Finally, the fourth column consisted of Hanabi, who was placed behind Hayakawa Ebisu and some raven-haired boy she did not recognize.

"Alright, everybody listen up!" the Hokage shouted. "I have gathered you for a special mission that will be carried out immediately after this briefing. The issue concerns a renegade group of shinobi, most of them are Iwagakure missing-nins. Your mission is simple: track them, find them and eliminate them, by killing them, if necessary."

"Hokage-sama" Genma interjected. "Does this concerns the missing-nins we encountered during our last mission?" he asked, making several people raise her eyebrows.

"Yes" Hokage answered. "Ibiki and Ino has managed to interrogate one of our prisoners and we have received valuable information about this renegade group" she paused for a moment. "It's seems they had quite the ambitions, planning to grow in strength and create their own ninja system. They have managed to partially succeed, as their resources and workforce are quite considerable and they have set bases in the Land of Earth. Now is the time to destroy them, while they're still mustering their forces."

"With all due respect" Shikamaru interrupted. "How did this group managed to grow so strong? Isn't the Iwagakure supposed to know about them? And why should this be our problem when it's not our territory? Surely, the Tsuchikage has enough shinobi at his disposal to deal with this."

"Your right" Tsunade stated. "At least partly. If those renegades tried to form such an organization in the Land of Fire, they would have been noticed by some patrol long ago. In Land of Wind the harsh and desolate climate makes most such feats impossible without needs of any patrols. However, the Land of Earth has a unique disposition – some areas are remote and hard to reach or monitor even for the Iwagakure, but they still remain habitable, at least for Iwa-nins, which is how this group managed to grow and hide for so long."

"Alright, but why should we intervene?" Ino asked the obvious question.

"This situation is a complete reversal of the usual shinobi missions. Normally, a group of shinobi tries to ambush, infiltrate or indirectly strike a target, but this time it's the opposite – we are the force that will try to directly eliminate a group of shinobi. They probably can foresee this, so they will try to hide however they can and lay all the traps they can think of. Thus, a larger that normal force is necessary to flush them out and eliminate them. Iwagakure can do this on its own, but it will be a long and costly process. However, since we are now in a post-war alliance with Iwagakure and we were the ones who informed them about this, Iwagakure asked us to help them. This is a perfect chance to score some serious points with the Tsuchikage..."

"Even if the old geezer can kick the bucket at any time" Kiba remarked quietly, only to be discreetly elbowed by Aoba.

"...so we have decided to help them. Iwagakure will attack using its own group of around 30 shinobis. We will use our own group of 12 shinobis..."

"Woof! Woof!"

"...and a dog..." Tsunade continued, her eyebrow twitching for a moment. "...to support them."

"Any intel about the enemy?" Shikamaru inquired.

"The intel we obtained from the prisoners will be handed to all of you. Team Ebisu also met with the enemy before, so they can be a useful source of information during this mission."

"Understood" Shikamaru stated lazily.

"Does the Iwagakure group expects us to fight alongside them?" Udon asked sheepishly.

"If the situation requires it, but the plan is for both groups to come from different directions to flush the enemies out and attack them. However, since the terrain will be harsh, I have divided you into groups of three, as you can see, so you can cover as much of the search area as possible. Also, Kiba, I want Akamaru to help some other group with their tracking."

Inuzuka furrowed his brows, but did not object.

"Okay, as for the... Yes, Shikamaru?"

"With all due respect, Hoakge-sama" the lazy jounin started. "But why not send Naruto?" the others turned their heads to him with the looks ranging from slight surprise to open admiration. "His needs political ties for his... uhm..." Shikamaru struggled for a moment.

"For his future role as my successor?"

"Yes... furthermore he can use his shadow clones and is immensely powerful even without jinchuuriki or rikudou powers. With Sakura for healing and Kakashi for the planning he can't mess this up."

"You're right" Tsunade admitted. "And I would send him out immediately, but unfortunately, he's on a diplomatic mission to the Land of Water and Sakura is with him. Probably to keep the Mizukage from making any moves on him" she remarked with a playful glint in her eyes.

"And what about Yamato and Kakashi?"

"They are outside of the village as well. Top secret." Tsunade sighed. "Actually we still have a manpower crisis on our hands. Trust me, I am not too eager to send four jounins and eight chuunins for such a mission. But, I don't have much choice in this matter."

"How troublesome..." all members of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio mumbled at the same time, making Shikamaru visibly disturbed.

"Any other questions?"

"When do we leave?" Aoba asked.

"Immediately, actually we have sent info to the Tsuchikage informing him that you had already left the village" Tsunade said, receiving surprised stares. "That's how politics work."

"But this way we won't even have time to gather our supplies..."

"Not a problem, your supplies are all here" Shizune pointed to a table packed full of shinobi tools. "That is all" Tsunade said. "Get your gear and move out. Good luck. Genma, Ebisu, Shikamaru, come over here for a moment."

When the three jounins were close enough, Tsunade started in a hushed voice. "I'm really wary to send Team Ebisu on this mission, but we really lack shinobi at the moment and they have met the enemy before, so they can be useful. Just keep our future generations safe."

"Protect the King, right? Leave this to me" Shikamaru assured her.

"What about my team working together?" Ebisu asked nervously, receiving a curious glance from Shikamaru.

"We don't have much time to discuss this, but as you can see I decided to divide your team for this mission. Konohamaru will have a chance to lead Moegi and Udon. They work the best as that anyway."

"And what about keeping Hanabi with Sai? I don't really think two emotionless people are a good match in a team..."

"Sai has come a long way, maybe he can teach her something from his own experience. Just make sure you or Sai won't make her look like a regular soldier or a third wheel, we don't want her to feel any more useless or underestimated."

"Yeah, I know."

"Another thing" Shikamaru started. "Shino and Hinata are not here because..."

"Out on a mission and some damn Hyuuga meeting."

"And Sasuke? You're not going to tell me about som Uchiha meeting, are you?"

"No, but I don't think Tsuchikage would be happy to see him. We don't want to make this mission a political fiasco."

"Figures..."

"As for all further details you have to discuss them during your trip. Time is of essence here. I leave all strategy to you, Shikamaru. This mission is politically crucial, but your lives are more important. Don't risk them. Your enemy is hunted, so things will get ugly when you force them into a corner."

"Understood" Genma stated calmly. "We will be moving out them."

"Very well. Good luck."

(* * *)

A few hours later they were already moving quickly through the forests outside of the Konoha. The time was crucial, so they were moving fast. Too fast for Hanabi's liking. The Hyuuga girl was once again reminded that she was not used to long-distance travelling, especially at this speed. She was already starting to worry what will happen when they reach the Land of Earth.

They have decided to put their three-member cell rule into action from the very start, so they were moving in their designated teams, far enough from each other for the whole group to not be detected easily. This meant that even with the Byakugan Hanabi had no real idea where the other were at the moment. All she knew was that her sensei and the black-haired boy she didn't know were in her team and that she was slowly, but surely falling behind.

Just when she started thinking about some counter-measures, the boy slowed down, so he could travel alongside her.

"Ah... hello there..." he said, his voice and face looking generally cheery, but Hanabi sensed that it was not exactly what people used when they were cheerful. "I believe, we were not introduced yet. I am Sai."

Formal introductions... that's something she could do.

"Yes, excuse my rudeness. I am Hyuuga Hanabi, the daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi and..." she went quiet, catching herself that she was about to say 'the future heiress of the clan'. She chastised herself mentally for that.

"And Hinata is your older sister" the boy finished for her without waiting for her reply. Hanabi looked at him strangely.

"You know me?"

"Of course, I heard Hinata speak of you a couple of times. And the Dobe has mentioned you as well."

"The Dobe?" Hanabi asked, this time completely surprised. "You mean Sarutobi Konohamaru?"

"Oh no... he is the Muffler. The Dobe is Uzumaki Naruto."

"What?" she asked, clearly not understanding. "What would you call him like that?"

"Well... he is a dobe, isn't he?" Sai asked, confused. "Besides, Cockatoo calls him that all the time."

"Cockatoo?"

"Oh yeah... Uchiha Sasuke" the boy said smiling.

Okay, most of the shinobis she's met, even in her clan, were weird. But this guy was a real whacko.

"Do you always give people such strange nicknames?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yeah... that reminds me... I need a nickname for you as well, let's see..." he said, while rubbing his chin.

She felt a terrible foreboding.

"Your name's Hanabi... then maybe it's a firework?" he mused. "Nah... you're not that stunning and flashy... Perhaps just a firecracker..."

"I'll show you a firecracker!" she shouted and launched herself in his direction, but he expected this and dodged easily, making her crash into a tree, sending tree bark in every direction.

"Yup" he said. "Firecracker it is."

Several meters further Ebisu just sighed. A girl who thinks she can't be riled up, but gets riled up easily and a boy who doesn't know when to stop riling people up.

"Why me?" he asked to no-one in particular.

(* * *)

"Shikamaru!"

"Troublesome..." the genius jounin mumbled and raised his head from an impromptu shougi game he was playing with Genma.

"Yes, Ino?"

"Konohamaru's team has arrived."

"At last" Shikamaru responded and stood up. It was Genma's turn anyway.

Not a fifteen seconds later the three chuunins landed in the clearing.

"What took ya so long?" Kiba asked.

"We run into some problems on the way..." Konohamaru started.

"Ya mean like a dango shop or somethin'?"

"No, you idiot" Moegi answered. "We run into some shinobis from Kami-knows-what small country and had to go around them to remain unnoticed."

"Yeah, right..." Inuzuka replied, clearly unconvinced.

"Shut up!" Konohamaru and Moegi shouted at him.

"Easy, easy now" Udon raised his hands.

Kiba was about to open his mouth to tease them further, but a sharp glare from Shikamaru stopped him.

"Tch... you guys are no fun..." the Inuzuka said.

"Quit your whining!" Ino shouted and hit him on the back of his head. "You're not a dog!"

"Oww! That hurt" Kiba complained only to receive another strike. "Shikamaru! Make her stop!"

"No can do..." the Nara jounin replied, smiling. "She's too troublesome and she's your problem now" he turned to the Konohamaru Corps. "I'm just glad you're here."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Konohamaru shot back, before Moegi or Udon could stop him. "We were supposed to rendezvous here, so we're here. Have a little more faith in us, will ya?"

"Yeah, yeah" Shikamaru responded. "Don't give me that, it doesn't work on me."

"According to Naruto-niichan it does" Konohamaru shot back proudly, his arms folded on his chest.

"Great... that's exactly what we need. Another loud, obnoxious, shadow-cloning troublesome kid" Shikamaru remarked sarcastically. "Continue to act like Naruto and you're sure to wind up as Hokage someday."

"Yeah" Konohamaru replied. "That's the plan!"

Moegi looked at the ground and facepalmed while Udon just chuckled softly.

"So, let's get to business then" Konohamaru said enthusiastically.

"Hold your horses" Chouji said. "We're still waiting for some people."

"Huh?" Moegi looked around, counting those around her. "Wait a moment... Where's Ebisu-sensei?"

"And Sai?" Udon asked and hesitated. "And Hanabi?" he added, looking warily at Konohamaru and Moegi.

The boy looked like he didn't hear him on first glance, but Udon could see a glint of worry in his eyes. Moegi, on the other hand, was more vocal.

"I bet our little princess is lost and the others have to look for her. Apparently she's good at everything. Except for not getting lost."

"Who got lost?" a new voice interjected.

The assembled in the glade turned around only to notice the missing team just emerging from the bushes.

"Finally! What took ya so long?" Kiba repeated himself. "The Sarutobi brat and his team" at this Konohamaru glared at the Inuzuka. "Used the long way and still went before you, ya know?"

"So now, you believe us, huh?" the mentioned Sarutobi asked through his teeth.

"Well, we might not be the fastest team around" Ebisu explained, trying to remain calm. "But, we're stealthy. Until we wanted to be noticed, you couldn't tell we were there, could you? The same goes for your nose, Kiba!"

"What?" the Inuzuka stood up. "Are you sayi-"

"Enough of this!" Shikamaru's voice once again proved the young jounin's authority. "No more bantering or bickering. That's an order. We're on a troublesome mission, so let's not make this any worse."

"My, my..." Genma mumbled, voicing his worry, amusement, anger or whatever was hidden behind his calm eyes.

(* * *)

The next day came and soon the entire group left the green forests and ventured into the Land of Earth. Now, when the terrain was more open, Konohamaru could see most of the group, with the exception of Kiba and Akamaru, who were scouting ahead.

He briefly remembered the discussion from yesterday and Shikamaru's voice echoed inside his head.

"The most important ability for a shinobi on a mission like this is teamwork" the genius jounin stated the obvious, his gaze stopping for a moment when he looked on Hanabi, Kiba, Sai and Konohamaru Corps. "And if everything goes smoothly, we will be able to overcome our enemy with this teamwork of ours."

He waited for a moment, making sure that everyone understood.

"However" he continued. "I very much doubt it will go smoothly. Our enemy is aware of his position. Thus, we should expect every effort aimed at dividing and confusing us. Because of that I want you to understand that each one of you might be forced to separate from your team and to face several enemies. When such thing happens, remember that your individual skills are your best weapon."

Shikamaru turned to Chouji and nodded.

"From now on we need to move fast and be prepared to enter combat at any time. Possibly long combat. Thus, each one of you will receive one soldier pill now. This should keep your energy levels high enough for the trip and the battle."

Just as Shikamaru have said, the pill made the travelling much easier and increased their chakra reserves. Konohamaru could practically feel all the stamina that was at his disposal now. Even his residual chakra was much stronger than usual. These pills were the real deal.

Still he didn't fail to notice that was his second mission in a row with the same enemy and with a soldier pill. He sighed, hoping that this was the last time something like this happens.

He quickly checked the surroundings for any suspicious sings and then resumed his musings, his thoughts now wandering freely until Hanabi floated to the front of his mind.

He sighed again.

The proud girl had been acting relatively meekly throughout both briefings, not even perking up when Shikamaru mentioned individual skills. And only sometimes would she glare at Kiba or Sai, which was completely normal for any shinobi.

The strange thing was that she did not glare at him. At first Konohamaru thought that she would do that when he was not looking, but then he noticed her looking at him once or twice with an expression he couldn't help, but call a default one, before she turned away. Like she didn't know what she wanted to do, much alone what she was supposed to do when it concerned him. He briefly wondered whether this was a good or bad sign.

During their talk, when he's told Udon that this was just a temporary crush, he'd been honest for the most part. He still hoped (no, not hoped! Believed!) that this would end soon, but as long at it lasted it was... difficult... painful even. Then he realized how screwed up his team was.

He had a crush on Hanabi. Moegi had a crush on him. Udon had a crush on Moegi.

This was beyond what he has ever heard of. A new level of team dynamics. The only thing missing was for Hanabi to have a crush on Udon. That would be a final blow to their teamwork as they knew it.

He sighed for the third time.

"What's wrong, Kono?"

Konohamaru winced, knowing exactly who it was.

"Nothing!" he answered, putting on a smile. "Why would there be anything wrong with me?"

Moegi looked at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing and studying him for a moment.

"This is your first official mission as a team leader, yet you're not happy about it at all..." she remarked.

"Yeah, I'm not used to this much responsibility" he lied. "Besides, Shikamaru's our real leader this time around."

She looked unconvinced.

"Anyway... you don't need to worry about me."

"Hmpf!" she snorted and sped up ahead. Then he could hear her mumble "Idiot..."

"Women have intuition, you know?" Konohamaru this time openly groaned, not in a mood for one of Udon's lectures. "If I can sense something is wrong then she can too."

"Thank you for summing that up" Konohamaru replied sarcastically and sped up too.

(* * *)

In the evening they made another camp and each 3-man cell stood guard duty for a few hours before shifting. In the morning they resumed their trip, now quite deep in the territory of the Land of Earth.

They travelled like that for the good part of the day when Shikamaru noticed that Kiba and Akamaru have stopped.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked when he came close to him.

Instead of answering the Inuzuka jerked his head, motioning forward. Shikamaru looked in the indicated direction and squinted his eyes to see a lone figure in the distance. He summoned Hanabi to his side and showed her the figure.

"Can you identify?"

The Hyuuga girl activated her Byakugan and using her enhanced chakra reserves she quickly zoomed in on target.

"Looks like some Iwagakure shinobi. He's standing right there in the open."

"Can this be a clone or an illusion?"

"It's certainly not a genjutsu and not a regular bunshin" Hanabi answered. "But, it can be iwa bunshin no jutsu..."

"Alright..." Shikamaru muttered. "Aoba, Sai – you're coming with me. The rest of you stays here. Genma, you're in charge."

"Aye, aye" Genma answered calmly.

Hanabi observed the trio as they quickly approached the man. She saw them talk for a minute after which the man turned to stone and collapsed. Rock Clone indeed. After that the trio quickly returned.

"Alright, we have some news" Shikamaru announced as soon as he was close enough. "The Iwagakure force has found the tracks of the enemy and is currently trying to force them into a corner. Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi are in their group as well. We also know where to proceed from here."

"So let's move ahead then!" Kiba interjected eagerly.

"Not ahead" Shikamaru corrected him. "Iwagakure has managed to push the enemy in the direction of the Land of Fire. From here we head to the east."

At this Hanabi felt a wave of relief wash over her. The closer to the kind of terrain she was used to the better for her and worse for her enemies.

"How do we know that this guy was not some imposter?" Ino asked and a few heads nodded in agreement.

"The person knew of the secret protocol we established for this mission, but as a matter of fact – we don't. Thus, I want all of you to remain cautious and vigilant. We will now split into groups and use our trackers to find the enemy. Kiba will remain as the main tracker for Genma's group. Ino will use her mind jutsus in our group. Hanabi and Sai will be trackers for Ebisu's group. Konohomaru's group will use his shadow clones and will also be aided by Akamaru."

Shikamaru looked around for any signs of confusion or objection. When he saw none he continued.

"Fron now on our real mission begins. Let's move."

(* * *)

The evening was once again upon them and it brought a certain feeling of foreboding to Hanabi. She couldn't let the history repeat itself. Everything will be fine. You are more prepared now and have more shinobi with you, she told herself, but immediately knew it was false. This time the enemy was the one surrounded, the one desperate and the one unpredictable. This could still turn ugly.

Therefore, she was using her Byakugan quite often, checking for enemies and their traps, while they were getting close to the foot of some mountain. Two other groups were a little ahead of them and quite far to either left or right, but Hanabi still spotted them with her enhanced range

And it was her enhanced range that let her finally notice something.

"I've got some chakra signatures 1 kilometer ahead, halfway up the mountain" she reported to Ebisu.

"Can you identify?" Hanabi was beginning to think that she will be hearing this question a lot in the near future.

"Not from this distance, all I know is that they're not moving."

"Alright" her sensei answered. "We will move closer and then Sai will deploy his mice. For now let's inform the others and advance."

So they did, moving slowly throughout the desolate terrain, using every possible rock formation to cover their approach. Soon Hanabi was close enough to notice that the chakra signatures were very weak, small and certainly non-human. Traps were the only possible explanation.

"Okay, Sai, you know what to do" Ebisu told the raven-haired boy.

Hanabi turned to Sai, her basic Byakugan range still activated just in case, curious about what he was about to do. She saw the boy pull out a small summoning scroll only to summon... a larger and blank scroll.

Hanabi was confused, especially when the boy started to draw something at an amazingly fast rate. She noticed that he infused his ink, and therefore the entire drawing, with chakra. When ready, he made some handseals.

"Ninpou" he stated calmly. "Choujuu giga."

Hanabi watched fascinated as the contents of the drawing, a multitude of mice, immediately came to life. She furrowed her brows, though. Why mice? Why couldn't they be birds? She would be comfortable with butterflies really... Well at least, they were not bugs.

The small rodent spies were unleashed into the enemy territory. After some five minutes Ebisu ordered for another wave of mice just in case. Hanabi once again turned to Sai. The boy was weird and rude idiot, granted, but he knew how to draw. She hoped that such techniques was not what her father wanted for her to learn, cause she would be never able to do such a thing. She observed Sai as again draw another army of mice.

And it was then that she heard a series of faint, but certainly humand-made clicks.

Hanabi raised hear head in confusion. Did she misheard something?

"What was that?" Ebisu's voice proved that was not the case.

Hanabi turned back to Sai to ask him about it, but she stopped when she noticed his stare. The boy was looking at something above her head, surprise and fear visible even in his eyes.

Before Hanabi could turn around or open her mouth the incoming objects breached the range of her Byakugan and her eyes widened as well.

"Everyone take cover!" Ebisu shouted. "Move!"

He didn't have to repeat that, she saw it now.

The rain of kunais was dense and clearly visible in the red evening sky. But that was not the problem. The problem was a white and gray spots attached to every kunai – explosive tags without doubt. Even if most of them were fake, they were in trouble.

Hanabi had no time to wonder how in Kami's name the enemy got so well equipped or to check if her group was the only one being attacked. All she did was run for cover.

When she found one, she looked once more into the sky and then closed her eyes, covered her ears and waited.

The first explosion tore through the air and was quickly followed by another as the ground shook violently. Soon enough her ears started to hurt and she was no longer able to distinguish between each explosion. This continued for something that felt like minutes and then came some rustling as debris was flowing around. After it she registered the most dreadful thing of all.

Silence.

After a moment she started to cough, emerging from her, now almost non-existing, cover and looking around.

Dust, dirt and smoke was covering everything, but she could see past it and noticed that the smoky cloud was present in other places as well. The attack was powerful, yet accurate, she concluded that they were showered by no less than two hundred well-aimed kunais. Those couldn't be hand-thrown, not from that distance and not in this quantity. Summoned perhaps?

Though Byakugan could see through the smoke pretty easily, the smoke was not completely powerless against her kekkei genkai, as she soon noticed that it got into her eyes and was becoming very irksome, forcing her to squint them.

"Is everybody alive?" she heard Ebisu's loud voice and saw him a good fifteen meters away from here. She doubted that he could see her, however.

"I'm fine" Hanabi shouted back, fully aware that the flying debris left some cuts on her. She really started to hate any similarities between this mission and the last one.

"Me too" Sai stated from above, Hanabi now noticed that he was flying on a large ink bird, high above the smoke. When did he get there? She had no time to think about it, though.

"We have another wave incoming!" Sai shouted and Hanabi saw it.

This time around she reacted quickly and in time. She used shunshin no jutsu to escape the targeted area. Moments later a second barrage of explosions ensued, thankfully a safe distance away from her.

Her relief was cut short however, when she noticed one thing – Ebisu-sensei was now over a hundred meters away from her and Sai was even further. With terror she realized that Shikamaru was right – the enemy was trying to separate them and succeeded.

"The enemy!" she heard Sai shout. "The enemy is-" he was cut off when something hit his ink bird. Hanabi watched as the bird disappeared in a black splash. She quickly refocused her chakra and noticed that several enemy shinobis were indeed approaching them. Fast.

Her first instinct was to return to Ebisu, but the enemy would have none of that. Another bunch of explosive tags landed in front of her and exploded. She covered her face while the ground around her shook once again. These tags, however, were thrown by hand, probably thanks to the fact that the enemy was higher than her, she concluded.

The enemy was now clearly visible to her eys and Hanabi noticed that only two of enemy ninjas headed in her direction while the others turned to the side.

It seemed the enemy underestimated her again. She could use that. She reached inside her ninja pouch for some explosives on her own and patiently waited for the enemy to reach her.

Finally the two of them arrived and stood on some rocks not further than twenty meters from her.

"Long time no see, little rat!" one of them, exclaimed. He had a nasty wound of his face, like he was kicked with a chakra-enhanced foot.

"Don't remember us, huh?" he continued seeing confusion in her eyes. "But I am reminded of you every time I look into a mirror" he spat out venomously.

Hanabi suddenly remembered him. Both of them actually. They were the ones that opened her crate. As disturbing as it was, it also brought a sense of relief. If she kicked their asses before, then she could do it again.

"And I'm proud of that" Hanabi answered, dropping into a fighting stance. "If you want another piece of me, then come here and get me."

To her surprise they just smiled.

"We would really like that, trust me" the one with the wound replied. "But are orders are quite different."

He was still talking when both of them pulled out a number of explosive tags and threw them at her. Hanabi reacted instantly, by hopping backwards, prepared to jump further as soon as she touched the ground.

However, she noticed that the eight kunai were not aimed at her, but around her, embedding themselves into the ground in a shape similar to an octagon. She also observed that the tags were larger and certainly not explosives. They looked more like... summoning ones.

"Have a nice trip, bitch!" the shinobi shouted while quickly performing some handseals.

She moved instantly, trying to get out of the octagon, but she was too late. The kunais glowed with blue chakra and quickly created something like an octagonal barrier all around her. The barrier started to move quickly in one direction like a bizarre hurricane with Hanabi in the eye of the storm.

She watched in horror, as the storm compressed, getting closer and closer to her. She felt her feet leave the ground and her body start to rotate faster and faster. Soon enough it was too much for her and she wanted to scream, yet she heard nothing past the rush of the artificial wind raging all around her.

Finally, the storm crushed on her, but instead of feeling pain and pressure she felt a strong tug downwards, as if the gravity was making every effort to bury her beneath the rocky ground. Short silence followed, during which Hanabi felt like she was falling and then she met the ground again.

Hard.

She lay for a few seconds, her Byakugan deactivated and for a moment everything was quiet, except for the ringing in her ears. After it calmed down she raised her head, but instead of a red and dark evening sky, she saw what looked like a rocky ceiling, barely visible in the weak flickering light.

Before she could make sense of any of this a new voice resounded, followed at least twice by the echo.

"Welcome, Miss Hyuuga" the voice said. "I have been waiting for you."

**(* * *)**

**So what do we have here?**

**A bunch of different characters... Shikamaru acting bothersome, Sai acting like... you know what. Konohamaru and Hanabi getting not enough screentime, Udon giving obvious women advice (and how would he know?).**

**And, most important of all, the history seems to repeat itself – Iwagakure renegades are just huge fans of Hanabi...**

**Anyway, as I said before, await the next chapter, where the second arc reaches its conclusion.**

**As for now: rate, comment and review!**

**P.S.**

**Today's reference is sponsored by the dark side of the Force.**


	13. Meet the boss

**Hello, I'm back with the freshest chapter, "straight out of the pen" (uh... keyboard?) so to speak.**

**Let us start with some announcements.**

**Firstly, thank you for all your reviews and comments regarding the last chapter. They were very motivating.**

**Secondly, in the previous chapter I mentioned that some plot-holes may appear. Yes, you're guessing it right – I have screwed up a little. Namely, in the original version of the last chapter the Konoha group moved north (north-west maybe) into the Land of Earth. After meeting the Iwagakure delivery man they continued north, deeper into the Earth's territory. In the current version they head east (more or less) after meeting the delivery man. In result they are actually heading closer to the Land of Fire, meaning there is a forest close to the battlefield. For those of you who want to know the details I recommend rereading the last chapter.**

**And lastly, I know that I said that this will be a long chapter that will end the current arc. However, I have written over 4000 words and found a nice place to cut the chapter in two... so I did it. For those of you who don't like that – I'm sorry, but I hope you will still be able to enjoy it. It also means that I don't know how long will the next chapter be. Maybe 2500. Maybe 4000 words. Who knows...  
><strong>

**Okay, no more needless (?) talk. Here we go!**

**Disclaimer in romanized japanese (more or less correct): Watashi wa Naruto ga arimasen!**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

At the sound of the voice Hanabi quickly stood up, but cringed when her body responded with pain, like she had fallen from some high place. She realized she kind of did.

Her surroundings looked like some sort of cavern, which brought an unpleasant sense of déjà vu. The only sources of light were torches on the walls and on the floor. They were burning with a strange green fire, undoubtedly created with ninjutsu, and flooding the air with an eery mix of shade and flickering light.

Feeble as it was, the glow of the torches was enough for her to spot a lone figure hidden partly in the shadow good dozen meters away from her, though Hanabi wasn't able to see any details. She quickly activated her Byakugan.

With her enhanced vision she could now see that the chamber she was in was a natural cave. However, she noticed that the walls and the ceiling were covered with some sealing tags. Whatever it was, it seemed to block even the enhanced vision of her kekkei genkai.

She could only assume that she arrived here by some kind of summoning jutsu. But where was she?

"We're currently inside the mountain you saw from the outside" the man spoke as if reading her mind. "Approximately six hundred meters above sea level."

Now she could see him clearly. He was sitting on a strange rock formation, which strangely resembled a chair or a throne. The man himself was around 30, maybe 35 years old, dressed in what was probably a chuunin vest from Iwagakure. He was seemingly thin and weak, though Hanabi was well aware that she didn't look particularly strong either. She usually made up for it with confidence and hard stare. It seemed that such concept was not foreign to this man. He observed her calmly, like he was meeting with an old friend, hardly even moving. She saw that he had a forehead protector with the symbol of his former village barely visible in an effort to cover it. Finally, Hanabi noticed that the chakra on the right side of his head was slightly different. What could that mean? A genjutsu?

Thanks to her 360 degrees vision she could confirm that beside the man there was no-one else here. She felt a wave of relief wash over her. There was no need to panic. She had to get away from here and she had to be smart about it. No need to rush. She might as well get some information.

"Who are you?" she asked the first logical question that came to mind, simultaneously she tried to look scared, hoping for him to drop his guard down even more.

"Ah" he immediately livened up as if he couldn't wait for her to ask that question. "That's right, where are my manners?" he asked himself, looking truly embarrassed. "My name is Fukusuke. I am the leader of this little group of shinobi you saw today and a few days ago."

This surprised her.

"Why do you think I was here a few days ago?" she asked while mentally counting her remaining ninja tools.

"Let's just say that I am well-informed about some of the more important clans in the five countries" he answered. "And some of my men have recognized you when you run through one of our bases last time" he straightened himself and continued. "Tell me – did you hide in that crate deliberately or it was just accidental?"

"Both" she answered simply, to which the man only nodded in understanding. Despite the fact that he didn't look intimidating she started to feel more and more uneasy. She asked the next obvious question.

"Why am I here?" she started, but the next words came easily. "I mean... why didn't you just attack me on the field? Why show me you secret hideout? Now you won't even be able to use it as your last stand."

To her surprise the man just laughed in a way that was both merry and scary.

"Last stand?" he asked, still laughing. "I think you misunderstood something. Our last stand has already begun" when he saw her confused look he continued. "Our operation was promising and our group grew in gear and information... in numbers even. We could continue to function under the nose of that old geezer Tsuchikage. But then you came along and blew our cover. Now we have two villages after us, flushing as out as rats. Thanks to you and your pals from Konoha our entire operation is completely screwed. We're screwed."

He stopped for a moment, his eyes unfocused, possibly thinking about his loss. Then he looked back at her.

"Iwa and Konoha forces are well-prepared. We won't be able to get out if this, so we will settle on inflicting as much damage as possible" he said calmly. "The majority of our resources were used against shinobi from our own village, so I suppose that most of your pals will survive. Such a pity... Anyway, when the sun rises all of us and some of you will be dead."

"You haven't answered my question" she stated simply.

"Quite right" the man replied and stood up. She had to admit that he didn't look like a head thug of a gang. He was rather lanky. Yes, he was considerably taller than her, but not really taller than Ebisu or Naruto. Hell, Konohamaru was already close to his height.

"The answer is simple. I wanted to meet you in person" he finished.

"Meet me?" she asked incredulous.

"For now, yes."

"Why?" she asked quickly. "I'm not the leader or anything."

"No, you're not" he admitted. "But you're a Hyuuga."

Her eyes widened. Was he after the Byakugan? Nah... he just said that he would be killed anyway. Or maybe he wanted to make sure that the heiress of the Hyuuga was killed? Possible heiress, she corrected herself mentally.

"You see" the man continued. "The Hyuugas are just one of my interests."

"What do you mean?" she asked, using her kekkei genkai to locate all possible escape routes.

"I think I should just show you" he said and then made a simple hand seal to focus his chakra and closed his eyes.

Hanabi had been expecting something like large-scale doton jutsu, but instead she saw a relatively little chakra travel through his system and to his head. The right part of his head. And then the chakra there started to swell. In a familiar manner.

A few seconds later the man opened his eyes.

The left one was completely normal – brown, small and a little bloodshot. The other however was different. The pupil was pale compared to the blood that appeared when the veins arround the eyeball swelled dramatically. It didn't look complete or even functioning, but it was definitely it.

The Byakugan.

"I see you're surprised" the man remarked.

"Where did you get that?" Hanabi asked, suddenly feeling angry.

"Long and boring story we don't really have time for" the man replied.

"So that's how you managed to escape detection?" she continued. "By using our doujutsu?"

"A sound theory, but incorrect" he replied. "Indeed, if I have proper conditions and I am well-rested then I am able to activate this kekkei genkai partially. But, aside from that it is useless for me in battle."

He closed his eyes for a moment again and his chakra calmed down. Both of his eyes were brown once more.

She looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you surprised?" he asked. "Or did you think that activating this jutsu was easy? That's one of the things I despise about people like your clan. You can use this doujutsu from the day you are born and you're so well-trained with it. Yet, your knowledge about it is so limited. Ironic, isn't it?"

At this point Hanabi has completely forgotten about her mission, concerned only with this man and the information he possessed.

"What do you mean by that?"

"This kekkei genkai" he pointed to his eye. "Requires certain compatibility with the user to work. I guess that your clan is simply born with this compatibility. But, it doesn't work for everyone. I could transplant this eye, but my optic nerve, brain and chakra network can't really work well with it. Using it causes me harm and pain."

"So why use it?" she spat out, pulling out a kunai. "I'll be happy to crush this eye for you."

"The reason is, once again, simple. As you can clearly see" he gestured to himself. "I'm not a front line warrior. I'm not a god of speed, stamina or whatever. My strengths lie elsewhere."

"I don't have much time for talking" she said in obvious anger.

"I'll make it quick then. I'm a schemer, a thinker and, most important of all, a researcher" Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "You see, I couldn't use the Byakugan in combat, but I could still research it."

"This won't help you" she snorted. He just smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" he clasped his hands together in front of his chest. "You asked why I brought you here, right?" he asked and continued without waiting for her response. "Hyuugas are a special interest of mine. Moreover, you screwed up my operation and you're not just any Hyuuga. You're the successor of your father, right?"

That claim was not completely correct, but he didn't need to know that.

"Yes, what of it?"

"Nothing, just more reasons for me to kill you personally!"

She gripped her kunai tighter.

"You're weak, you admitted it yourself. You don't stand a chance with me."

His smile grew larger, feral even.

"Confident, aren't we? I told you I had time to study you precious kekkei genkai" he made several handseals quickly. "And I assure you – I'm the worst kind of enemy for you!"

She saw chakra being molded inside his body and braced herself. Frankly, now she was almost certain that he was preparing some really powerful doton to bury her alive in the heart of the mountain.

Instead her vision started to haze over. She blinked and noticed that her own chakra flow became erratic. He's cast genjutsu on her!

That actually annoyed Hanabi rather than worried her. Did he really think she would be caught in such a technique? She formed her hands into the tiger seal and concentrated briefly.

"Kai!"

Her vision and chakra flow immediately returned to normal, just in time to see Fukusuke slam his palm into the ground and Hanabi barely heard him speak.

"Doton: Retsudo Tenshou."

She didn't really need to ask what this technique was: the man's chakra instantly flowed into the ground and expanded quickly. She jumped backwards on pure instinct and watched as the ground below her cracks open with a series of menacing rumbling noises. In an instant the ground she was standing on a second ago transformed into a few meters deep canyon with razor-sharp rocks sticking out from everywhere.

Hanabi landed in the middle of it all, somehow chosing one of the still safe spots inside the rocky pandemonium. She had every intention to jump out from this place right away. He would be prepared for this of course, but she didn't have much choice at the moment. She crouched and focused chakra to her feet, ready to spring upwards.

And then it happened.

A searing pain exploded behind her eyes, making her hiss and fall to her knees. For a moment she didn't know where she was. Then it stopped. She stood up and noticed that her vision looked normal. She blinked and then realized that she accidentally deactivated her Byakugan.

She quickly reactivated her kekkei genkai and for a second or two everything was fine. And then the pain returned. This time she instinctively cut off the flow of chakra to her eyes and the painful sensation lessened, but did not disappear.

What was happening?

"You didn't get out and you sound like you're in pain" she heard a voice above and in front of her. "So I'm guessing that you're starting to feel the effects, aren't you?"

She looked up and saw Fukusuke at the edge of the destruction he has created. Her Byakugan was using little chakra, but she still could see his fatigue. That rock jutsu was strong, but it seemed to use a large part of the man's stamina. He really was not a front-line fighter. But, that wasn't her problem now.

"Effects?" she asked, trying to buy time. "What effects?"

"I told you before" he answered back between deep ragged breaths. "I'm a researcher and I have the Byakugan. I had the chance to study your kekkei genkai in a way your clan members couldn't. Also, they don't allow others to study it, thus I may be the only person who managed to reveal some of its secrets."

"Bullshit!" Hanabi shouted, pain and anger mixing together. "If you think you know more about our techniques then we do then-"

"Oh no, not at all" he cut her off. "I don't really know about abilities the Byakugan grants you. In this regard your knowledge is completely superior to mine" he admitted. "I was talking about something different. Physics, chemistry, chakra reactions, things like that. In other words, I managed to understand your kekkei genkai at biological level. Well, part of it at least."

"You mean you did something to my eyes?" Hanabi asked, seeds of panic in her already present and growing. "I didn't see you do anythi-" a then it dawned on her. "You used some kind of special ninjutsu after you put me under your genjutsu, didn't you?"

"No" he said back and pulled some weird-shaped kunai from his vest pouch. "I didn't do anything like that. The entire process is a little complicated, so I can't explain it to you and there's no need to anyway. Now, without your greatest weapon... no without your only weapon, you will die here!"

And then he jumped straight at her with his knife.

She jumped a little backwards and the bounced back towards him. In midair the only thing he could was to block her attacks with his kunai, but she was far more agile for this and kicked him right in his stomach.

Instead of a satisfying groan of pain she was rewarded with a puff o smoke and the man turned into a rather boring-looking man-sized stone. She quickly turned around, just in time to deflect his attack with a kunai of her own.

"Not bad!" he commented and then unleashed a series of furious slashes that came dangerously close to reaching her. He probably was under the effect of some soldier pill as well.

When he made a particularly far lunge, she jumped backwards. She then tried to fully activate her Byakugan, but the pain quickly increased. This was bad. As far as she didn't want to admit ti, her Juuken was almost useless if she couldn't see the chakra pathways. The same could be said about most of her fighting skills. And she simply wasn't used to fighting with her hands curled into fists.

Therefore kicks, kunais and shurikens were all she could use for now and she had an impression that she was not better than Fukusuke in terms of physical strength alone. The explosive tags were not an option – there was no telling what would happen to the whole place with a single explosion. She started to worry about him using some suicide attacks.

She was brought out of her musings and back to the reality when Fukusuke once again slammed his hand into the ground.

"Doton: yari bouchou!"

Immediately a rocky spike the size of a grown man shot out in front of him and a series of spikes followed, closer and closer to her. She instinctively started to spin around. It worked well enough – no spike could break through her Kaiten at full force.

But when the dust cleared, she saw that the man has vanished. Did he hid underground? Or has he simple used shunshin to run away? Or maybe run only to bury her alive?

With no other choice she focused a little bit of her chakra to her eyes, just enough to pinpoint his location if he was still nearby. The pain shot up again, but she managed to see him, hiding in the rocks behind her.

She quickly turned around and raised her kunai, but was too late. The blade of his kunai bit into her right shoulder. Hanabi winced in pain, but did not falter. She exploited the fact that he was unguarded and focused on his success. The man's eyes widened when she grabbed and pulled his arm while leaping into the air, rotating in place and kicking him flat in his face.

The force of the attack threw him back and made him hit the rocky wall. That was her chance to finish him off. She lunged at him with her own kunai in hand. The man was too slow to defend himself and she was sure she would get him if it hadn't been for the numbing sensation in her arm that made her miss.

Before she could really process all this the man got revenge with a kick on his own, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Surprised yet again, aren't you?" he asked, smiling despite a large bruise that was already starting to form on his face. "I forgot to tell you that I also possess a little knowledge when it comes to poison. But don't worry, this one only numbs you, you won't die from it. On the other hand this poison is quite potent and got into your bloodstream. For now it's only one arm, but in half an hour your entire body will be limp like a bonefish."

And then she remembered. One ninja tool that she could still use. She reached to her vest with left hand and pulled the item out – gray cylinder she took from the table full of supplies. The man reacted quickly and slapped her hand away, making the object fall to the side and then kicked her once more, making her travel a few meters backwards. This was more than what Hanabi could hope for. She covered her ears and closed her eyes, so she didn't see that Fukusuke had done the worst possible thing – opened his own eyes wide.

Next instant the flashbang exploded, turning the deep darkness of the cave into the greatest brilliance which she could see through her closed eyelids. Even with her ears covered and a considerable distance away, the bang was so loud that it was painful. Two seconds later she managed to stand up, albeit not without difficulty. The man on the other hand was on his knees now, his hands on his eyes. She briefly considered attacking him, but decided against it when he performed another set of hasty handseals.

She jumped out of the makeshift canyon and started to run away, not even stopping to look at the jutsu he released. The shaking of the ground told her enough – this was on a much larger scale, he might have just decided to make one big cave-in. She quickly turned to the one exit she spotted before and continued to move forward, already feeling the numbing expanding to her elbow and chest. She could still use her shoulder, but didn't know how long that will last.

A glimpse of light roused Hanabi from her musings and she increased her pace. Several seconds later she finally exited the cave and breathed in the fresh evening air, glad that she could once more see the surface world, bathed by the last rays of the sun.

She looked around, but no-one was here and the entrance to the cave was quite small and inconspicuous. She stopped for a moment to assess her situation.

The man had done something to her Byakugan and she had been poisoned. She was also fairly certain that the man was still alive – she wouldn't be surprised if he was able to go underground before he was buried. She gazed at the wound on her shoulder. The cut was not very deep, but was long and bleeding. She knew he would be able to track her. And worst of all, she had little time before the poison spreads completely.

She needed to get away from the rocks, the man had too much advantage here. Just then she remembered, that there should be a forest nearby. She looked around and sure there it was – looking more dark than green in the scarce sunlight. She guessed it was more than kilometer away, but she had to try. Woods and branches were her territory.

She started to move towards the forest, hoping that she would meet no more enemies on her way there.

(* * *)

The trip to the forest was uneventful, or as uneventful as a trip could be with her heavy breathing and a numbing sensation spreading throughout her body. Her right hand was mostly useless now. On top of that her travelling speed was unsatisfactory at best. Still, she felt relief once she reached first trees. The forest was surprisingly dense, proving that the soil was fertile enough even this close to the mountain. Heck, she was still descending, so this was probably just another part of the mountain.

She tried to be more careful now, considering that other enemies could be hiding somewhere in the thicket. She run (if that could be called running) like that for a minute or two without seeing anything safe some birds and one frightened deer when she started to think what to do next.

Her enemy would probably still be able to follow her here. What should she do? Stop here and prepare a trap or continue to run as long as she could? According to what the man told her, and she didn't think he was lying, after some time she wouldn't be able to run anymore. Heck, even if she managed to defeat or outrun him (she started to see that both options were equally unlikely) she still didn't really know where she was or where were the other members of her group.

The last thought made her do a mental double-take. What has happened to all of her allies? The Nara jounin. Genma. This rude Inuzuka boy. That strange shameless blonde girl. That "Sai" fellow. And most important: what happened to her team: Moegi, Ebisu, Udon and Konohamaru. Were they looking for her? Were they safe? Were they even ali-

No.

They were surely fine, they could hold their ground together. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were not looking for her. Why would they? Okay, maybe Ebisu would, he was true to his responsibilities (at least most of the time). And perhaps Udon would too. But the ohers? Moegi would probably be happy that she was gone and Konohamaru...

Yeah... he would probably be happy too. The team probably couldn't go on with two people trying to become leaders (vice-leaders really). Or maybe it was just like Naruto said – she was nothing more than a soldier, not suited to really lead others to battle.

Or maybe she was just regretting the way she treated him back then. He only wanted to help her, even if she didn't really need help. He jest wanted to see his teammate safe and prove his own skills along the way. She had to admit – Konohamaru had a combat style that relied heavily on ninja tools, his surroundings and his own wit and craziness. That was something she was somewhat incapable of and what she could really use right now.

While she she was well aware that the enemy could catch up with her, but didn't expect him to be already hiding behind one of the trees ahead of her. She was thus completely surprised, when he jumped at her the moment she was passing by one of the tree trunks. Frankly, she didn't really saw him, no more than out of the corner of her eye. Her instincts once again kicked in, so she avoided the blow (whatever it was), but he had the advantage thanks to the element of surprise.

Moments later her back hit the ground, air forced out of her lungs and eyes closed when pain shot up her wounded arm. And then she felt a cold steel at her throat. Her left arm was immobilized by his and her right one was just limp.

So this was it. She has failed. Failed her team, her village, her father and her clan. She has failed and she was going to die here and become nothing, but a few characters, a single line on the memorial stone.

Okay maybe not a few characters. It would probably go like this:

"Hanabi Hyuuga. Killed in action during a political mission. A naïve chuunin-level kunoichi who was so good with her kekkei genkai and got so cocky that she become useless without her all-powerful eyes."

Yep. That's more like it. Maybe that was all she ever was. Hanabi, the failed heiress. Hanabi, the failed daughter and sister. Hanabi, the failed teammate. Hanabi, the failed shinobi. Ha-

"Hanabi?"

She recognized the voice, but her brain refused to believe it. So she opened her eyes and gazed upwards, into the grazed and slightly bruised face of one Sarutobi Konohamaru.

**(* * *)**

**So wounded and regretful (?) Hanabi meets troubled and offended (?) Konohamaru while running away from the boss of the enemy she can't beat on her own.**

**What do you think will happen?**

**Please comment and review!**

**See you next time!**

**P.S.**

**Today's reference is sponsored by the Matrix.**


	14. Under the tree

**Hello, everyone!**

**The last chapter of this arc is finally completed! I'm really glad I decided to split it into chapters 13 and 14 instead of making a single big one... Otherwise the chapter would have over 9000 words :).**

**Still, I feel obligated to issue a warning: long chapter ahead! But it is important and good chapter. I hope you'll like it. I would really like that. **

**And some announcements. I'm having trouble with chapter-per-two-weeks schedule and I need to figure out some further plot details, so I'm thinking about switching to chapter-per-three-weeks schedule.**

**Just don't be surprised when next chapter comes "late".**

**Okay, enough talking! On with the show.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plotline, which I'm desperately trying to keep from bursting at the seams... or something like that.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

Hanabi's first thought was that it had to be her imagination or perhaps it was the enemy transformed into Konohamaru. But he knew her name and she saw recognition in his eyes. Besides, if he was the enemy, than she was finished anyway.

"Thanks Kami!" she rasped. "I never thought I would be this happy to see-" she was cut off when the business end of his kunai dug a little deeper into her skin.

Her eyes widened.

"What do you think you're-"

"Shut up!" he interjected with a hushed, yet menacing voice, his surprise gone and replaced with anger.

"Who're you?" he asked her.

"What?" she asked before she realized how dumb that was.

"Who are you?" he repeated, putting more pressure on her neck.

"Duh!" she exclaimed like he she hadn't expected him to be this stupid. "Hanabi, Hyuuga clan member, Konoha shinobi, your teammate. Rings any bells?"

"You're lying" he replied angrily. "Hanabi would not run through woods without her Byakugan and with her guard down like this!"

At this her face, normally fair, pale even, completely drained out of color. Not that it muttered much with all the little cuts, bruises and dirt.

So he thought she was someone else? On second thought she couldn't really blame him after she doubted him too. That, however, did not stop her from getting angry.

"Who do you think you are?" she barked at him. "Let me go this instant or else I swear to Kami that not even Naruto will recognize you when I'm finished with you."

He didn't let go, but the recognition once again flashed in his eyes. Recognition of what, she briefly wondered. Her screaming? Her scowling face? Was that what he remembered her for?

"Prove it!" he demanded. "Activate your Byakugan!"

At this her heart sunk.

How was she going to explain this to him? With situation like this he wouldn't believe her and she once again couldn't blame him.

"I can't use it right now" she mumbled and was not surprised when his expression hardened once again.

"That's because you're not her!" he concluded with a small knowing smile.

At this she panicked, frantically looking for a solution. Then some event from the past floated to the surface of her mind and she strained her memory as best as she could.

"You like training and missions" she started. "Exciting missions" she quickly added. "You hate onions! Your hobby is to develop new jutsu and you want to be the Seventh Hokage" she halted noticing something. "Like the Sixth was taken already... Anyway, you want to defeat Naruto and your favourite phrase is-"

"And what about you?" he suddenly asked.

"What about me?" she asked, confused.

"Your introduction" he clarified.

"I-I" she stumbled on her words for a moment. "I like to train with my father... I like bananas and milk... I don't like mitsuba and people who... who..."

"People who?" he urged her on.

"People who do not know their place... are obnoxious... and disrespectful" she finished, looking into the face of the most obnoxious and disrespectful person she has ever met.

And then the pressure on her neck vanished. She looked as Konohamaru withdrew his kunai, his face going from confused, to surprised. His eyes left her face and then his own face became all red. He quickly stood up and started sputtering at staggering speed.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. Really sorry! Don't be angry with me! I'm sorry!"

She already lifted herself into a sitting position and could only stare at him blankly.

Leave it to Konohamaru to not make any sense.

"It's alright..." she responded weakly. "I would have done the same to you."

Now that the adrenaline and fear subsided she realized how difficult it was for her to pick herself up now. The fatigue clearly got to her. No... not fatigue.

Poison.

She remembered why she was here. Now that she wasn't alone there was a chance to fight Fukusuke, she couldn't run away forever anyway.

"Where are the others?" she asked and when she received no reply she looked up at him.

Hanabi was surprisingly used to Konohamaru always being loud and not staying in one place, but fidgeting constantly. So it was strange to see him quiet and unmoving, except for his eyes, which seemed to scan all over her, like he was seeing her for the first time in his life.

"Well?"

"Huh?" he replied dumbly.

"What happened to the others?" she repeated.

Konohamaru blinked and then his shoulders sagged a little.

"I don't know" he answered. "The enemy was well prepared with all those explosive tags and other things. I wouldn't be surprised if they hurt their own comrades. Our entire party have scattered into small platoons and some of the enemies came after my group, so I lured them away from Moegi and Udon with some shadow clones and had a little clash with three of them."

Hanabi looked closer at his torn clothes and bruises, even some singes. And his worried face.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine" she said, hoping he would be more convinced than she was.

"Yeah..." he replied like he wasn't sure whether she really said that or not. "Anyway, what have happened to you? And where is Ebisu?"

"I don't know" apparently it was her turn to say that. "Shortly after the battle started we were ambushed by an enemy platoon with a very specific purpose – me. They summoned me to their boss."

"W-what?" Konohamaru stuttered. "Why?"

"He knew that the two of us messed his previous base and he was particularly interested in me because I'm a Hyuuga."

Konohamaru raised his eyebrow.

"He's somehow managed to obtain the Byakugan. He can't really use it though, but he had enough skill to research it."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "He used some strange technique. Genjutsu I think. Whatever it was, it messed with my Byakugan. I cannot really use it right now."

"Messed it? With a genjutsu?" he looked surprised, worried even. More than Hanabi had expecting him to be. "That's absurd!"

"Yeah, I know" she agreed. "I have no idea what really happened" she stopped for a moment. "Anyway, I've managed to escape, but not without a fight" she hesitated for a bit. "And I was poisoned..."

"What?" Konohamaru exclaimed, his voice panicked and the loudest she's heard him in this conversation. "Why didn't you tell me sooner" he asked and crouched next to her.

"It's not dangerous" Hanabi barked back, instinctively clutching her wounded shoulder and looking at him, feeling... nervous? That's not what she usually felt when someone was getting close and worried about her. Long ago she liked being pampered, but now it was something she hated. Usually. Was Fukusuke's poison doing more than the man told her? "I mean, it's a numbing poison. Non-lethal."

"You're will become unable to move?" he asked, still close to her.

Too close.

"I think I already am..." Hanabi whined... no, she stated. Hyuugas don't whine. Usually. "I am not able to run anymore, even sitting and breathing is tiring... And it'll probably get worse and..." she stopped when she noticed that Konohamaru stood up and turned around away from her.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" she asked. "Because we really need to find others or prepare for-"

Konohamaru moved and the next instant Hanabi felt a strong pull. Before she could react, her vision blurred for a moment and this was followed by a loud explosion. Then she felt another yank when she came to a stop. Feeling dizzy, she slowly opened her eyes even though she didn't remember closing them.

She was no longer on the ground, but on a branch of the nearby tree, almost completely surrounded by thick bushes. The place where she was sitting before was now covered by a cloud of smoke and dust that could be seen even from their hideout. But the thing that really got her attention was the fact that right now she was in Konohamaru's arms. He's swept her off her feet.

Literally.

Normally she would get mad with him for treating her like a defenseless child, but she was really kind of defenseless at the moment. He's probably saved her life this time. No, she didn't get angry. Instead, she felt as if her body was completely immobilized and it had nothing to do with the numbing poison. She also felt her face heat up strangely and she once more decided that he was too close to her.

"Umm..." she started, not really knowing what to say in a situation like this. "You can put me down, you know?"

"Huh?" Konohamaru looked back at her, as if he's forgotten about a girl in his arms. "Oh... riiight..."

Hanabi felt relief when her legs found their footing.

"What happened?" she asked with a whisper.

"Explosive tags" Konohamaru mouthed back.

"It's Fukusuke" she realized.

"Who?"

"The guy who I fought with" she answered. "He probably followed me thanks to the blood trail" she gazed at her right shoulder.

"How do we beat him?" Konohamaru wondered aloud.

"Not we. You" at this the boy turned back to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm unable to fight, I thought we've already established that" she said. "Besides, you're better at this kind of battle than me anyways... You always were..."

He looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "Did you seriously just say I'm better than you at something?"

"I-I didn't, I mean... Ugh... can we talk about this later?" Konohamaru nodded and returned to observing the area outside. "Sooo... how do I beat him? I bet he's a strong fighter, he's their boss after all."

"No he's not" Hanabi whispered. "I mean, he's not strong. He's a researcher, he uses genjutsu and poison. He attacks from a safe location. You can beat him head-on."

Not when I have to protect you as well, Konohamaru thought.

"I can't use the Kage bunshin..." he whispered back instead. "He would know our location immediately and another explosive tag like that and it's over."

Hanabi opened her mouth to reply, but then she noticed something strange.

A white, large feather has appeared in front of her vision, falling slowly. Dumbfounded, she looked up only to see dozens... no hundreds of such feathers, all of them swinging lightly like controlled by a wind. A wind she did not feel.

"What's that?" Konohamaru asked. "I feel like falling asleep..."

"It's his genjutsu!" Hanabi responded.

They made, both with difficulty, a handseal and dispersed the genjutsu, although the drowsy feeling remained for a moment.

"That was dangerous" Hanabi said, tired. She was getting short on stamina. "Let's hope he didn't-" she was cut off by a series of thunking and swishing noises. A couple of shurikens embedded themselves into the trunk of their tree and several others flew past the thicket and past them.

"Shit!" Konohamaru exclaimed and then pulled out something from his ninja pouch. "Close your eyes and cover your ears!"

He didn't have to tell her that. She knew what to do the moment she saw a couple of flashbangs in his hands. She closed her eyes the moment he flung them in different directions.

The light and sound once again penetrated her closed eyelids and covered ears. Moments later, for a second time this day, she felt she was being lifted by Konohamaru when he jumped out from their hideout.

They hid several trees away, staying motionless for a while, their breathing shallow and quiet.

"That was close" Hanabi admitted. "What now?"

"I have made some shadow clones back then" he replied. "I just need to know where that bastard is."

At this point she's already decided.

"Then go..." at this he turned once again to her.

"What?"

"Go, find him and meet him head-on" she explained. "Level the entire forest if you must."

"Are you crazy?" he shot back, a little louder this time. "You said you were what he wanted. It's too dangerous for you."

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't."

"Don't worry about me. Just go."

Konohamaru remained still for a few moments.

"I'm not doing this" he responded finally. "I'm not chosing between completing the mission over saving a teammate."

She smiled weakly. "You've saved me already" she reminded him.

And then suddenly she noticed that something wrong was happening with her vision. Black spots started to appear from all sides. She was certain it was the after-effect from Fukusuke messing with her kekkei genkai, but she was proven wrong when Konohamaru spoke up.

"Huh?" he looked at his own hands. "What's happening?"

"Another genjutsu!" Hanabi realized.

But this time the genjutsu did not dispel with their efforts and soon their vision was filled with pitch-black darkness.

Hanabi started to freak out, the lack of vision was probably one of the worst thing that could happen to her. But before she could start to panic she felt somebody's hand on her shoulder and a voice whispered to her.

"Hanabi?" it was Konohamaru.

"Yeah, I'm here" she whispered back, hoping that her voice didn't betray her anxiety. "It seems it's only our eyes that are affected."

"You've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed. "How I am supposed to fight him now? Shit! This is really bad!"

Hanabi felt his hand squeeze her shoulder. And then she got an idea.

"There is a way" she said and focused a little bit of her chakra to her eyes. The pain once again surfaced, but it remained tolerable. At least for now.

Her surroundings remained dark for the most part, but she could clearly see her own chakra system as well as the silhouette of Konohamaru.

"What do you mean?"

"It's black, but I can see still see chakra with my Byakugan, I should be able to find him."

"You said you couldn't use it!" Konohamaru said.

"It hurts when I use it, but with little chakra I can manage."

"I don't really think that's a good-"

"We don't have time... Please... let me help this time."

She didn't get a reply other that another squeeze on her shoulder. She took it as a "yes".

Hanabi quickly increased the range of her vision and the pain increased slightly. She just hoped she will be able to stand it. She spotted both of his clones hidden (or so she hoped) some twenty meters away from them.

And then she saw Fukusuke. He was moving slowly and quietly, searching for them.

"Found him" she informed her teammate. "Two o'clock. You can get him with an explosive tag."

"Two o'clock" Konohamaru whispered back. "is our tree trunk" She heard him fidget. "At least tell me that he's standing still."

"No, he's not, he's looking for us" she said, wincing slightly and glad that Konohamaru couldn't see her right now.

"Then you do it" he suggested. "You're the one who can see him anyway."

"With shaky hands? Forget about it."

"This isn't going to work" Konohamaru whispered and Hanabi was surprised to hear fear in his voice. This was so unexpected that it brought a feeling of dread to her as well.

But she refused to give up.

"Yes, it is!" she said and shifted. She retrieved an explosive tag kunai from her own pouch and put in his hands.

"What are you-"

"You will throw this" Hanabi stated, not asked. "If it explodes close enough to him, it will stop the genjutsu and allow your clones to act."

"Close enough?" Konohamaru repeated. "I told you I can't aim like this!"

"So don't aim" she told him.

"Huh?" To say that he was confused was an understatement. This girl was making even less sense than usual. "What do you mean?"

"Let me help. Let me be your eyes."

He looked flabbergasted, so she grabbed his wrist and raised his hand a little. Then she shifted his entire body in the direction of their target.

"What are you-"

"Quiet" she reprimanded him. She then proceeded to crouch directly behind him, so their hands and lines of sight were one.

"I will help you aim, just follow my lead."

It was then that the bitter truth hit him. They have been right. They all have always been right. Moegi, Udon, Ebisu, Tsunade, Sakura. Even his grandfather. He was a pervert. Of course he was! But he have always thought that it was just a background. A perk. That he could keep it under control when he had to.

But he was wrong.

Here he was. On a mission in a foreign country with his teammates waiting for him and possible in danger. With his enemy lurking in the artificial darkness, hunting them, wanting nothing more to erase their existences from the face of the earth. Here he was, holding in his hand the single ninja tool that could decide the outcome of this battle.

And yet, when Hanabi's small hand grabbed his wrist it all started to blur and float away from his mind, like the darkness swallowed more than just his vision, like for a fleeting moment anything else didn't really matter. Then he felt her getting closer. She put her chin on his shoulder and her cheek touched the back of his head. He could feel her hair – little fine brown strands – tickling and teasing him.

She moved his hand, a little and then she spoke again. "Okay, just let me guide you... that's it" her voice was soft and gentle. Hypnotizing. It was nothing but a whisper, yet he felt a shiver going down his spine.

The omnipresent darkness only made the experience even more surreal. He couldn't see her, even if he were to try and turn around. But he could hear her soft voice and her shallow, but slightly ragged breathing. He could feel a slight breeze on his cheek accompanying every word she said and every breath she took. He could feel her hand clench the kunai he was holding. Her fingers, her delicate fingers that could shut down one's entire chakra network in an instant were now next to his, almost intertwining with his.

And he could smell her. Oh Kami, he could smell her. A strange mixture of dirt, blood and also something else. Something he should've picked up long ago, but only now truly registered it. A smell that was at the same time strong and gentle. Like Hanabi herself.

Devoid of his ability to see he focused on the only thing he could think of – on keeping his own breathing rate under control. He was trying, and failing, to calm down the frantic beating of his heart. He had to or else she would be able to hear it. She would be able to see it!

"Alright" Hanabi whispered again, slowly dragging his hand to the right and snapping him back to reality. "He's walking there and here you will get him... Right here" her hand, their hands, came to a stop and then he felt her hand leaving his. "Ready?"

Konohamaru swallowed. "Ready."

"Now!"

In complete darkness he swung his arm like hundreds of times before and let go of the projectile, blindly trusting in it.

For a moment there was silence and then he heard the sound of kunai digging into the ground. He wished he knew at least how the guy looked. He would like to imagine his surprised face.

Oh well, he thought when he heard the explosion, this has to be enough for him.

The plan seemed to work as a glimpse of color appeared in his vision and after a few blinks he could see again. Then he felt Hanabi's hand on his shoulder.

"You got him" he heard her say.

At this exact moment the guy appeared before them, as if he simply jumped out of some branches below them. Konohamaru caught a glimpse of his face even if it was a little blurry.

"No..."

They guy found them and was just preparing to throw something, probably an explosive tag on his own.

But he didn't notice two shadow clones above, crashing down on him with the rasengan.

"We got him..."

(* * *)

Hanabi was on the ground, resting against a tree, the same they were hiding in just moments ago. The setting sun has already disappeared over the horizon and it was getting dark already. Soon she won't be able to distinguish the dark tree tops above her from the night sky.

She heard a twig snapping underfoot and turned only to see that Konohamaru was back.

"So?" she asked. "How is he?"

"Let's just say he won't be bothering us again" he answered.

"That's good actually."

"How about you?"

"I'm fine... Don't worry" she sighed. "I don't know how we're going to get back with me like that, though."

"I've deployed a few clones, so someone will find us eventually. The clones will also alert us about enemies..." he went past her and plopped down as well. "...so I think we can take it easy for now."

The were sitting no more that two feet away from each other, but thanks to the tree they were not able to see each other. Hanabi would think that she had enough with darkness and lack of vision... but she was kind of glad that she didn't have to face him.

Unbeknown to her, for him the feeling was very mutual.

Konohamaru was feeling slightly dizzy right now, the adrenaline rush already in the past. Now the silence was getting to him. He had to say something!

He was already opening his mouth to say something... anything... when Hanabi spoke up.

"Nice job by the way" she stated. "You really saved my butt back then."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't be able to do if it weren't for you, you know?" he answered.

"You wouldn't need to do it if it weren't for me" she confessed, smiling sadly. "I just wanted to say thank you" she paused. "So thank you. Twice."

"What do you mean twice?"

She sighed. "Then at the base underground. I might've been better off by myself... or I might've been not... You probably saved me back then as well."

Due to their sitting arrangement Hanabi couldn't see the surprised expression on Konohamaru's face.

"You want to say that you're not angry with me?"

"No, I'm not..." she answered, slightly surprised by his point of view. "I'm actually sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Did you just say 'I'm sorry'?" he breathed out quietly.

"Say again?"

"Nothing..." he said quickly. "I guess I'm sorry too."

"For what?" she asked confused.

"For shouting at you like that back then. I was just tired... and bitter... and-"

"It's alright" she stopped him. "I'm glad you did it."

"Is that a joke?"

"No" she answered. "I'm actually really glad you did it. Don't hesitate to do it again the next time I pull off something like that. That's your job as team leader."

He actually laughed at that.

"Team leader?" he repeated. "I just left Moegi and Udon. Who knows what happened to them! Some team leader I am."

"Wrong" she said. "You willingly become a bait to give them chance. A fighting chance. You're much better at this then all three of us."

"Well..." he said, his face all red. "If you say so."

"I know so."

Silence fell upon them after that, each of them just enjoying the moment of peace.

After a while, however, he became curious and wanted to exploit her talkative mood.

"So..." he started, getting her attention. "I don't want to intrude on your private life and don't get me wrong, but..."

"Yeah?" she asked when she didn't hear him continue.

"Why do you always act like that?" he asked finally and then realized that wasn't very specific. "I mean... you want to do everything by yourself and don't like irritating people getting in your way... What are you trying to prove so hard?"

Hanabi remained quiet and bit her lip. How much should she tell him? How much could she tell him?

When she didn't say anything for a few moments Konohamaru understood that he's made a mistake.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

"It's how things are in my clan" they said at the same time.

A short silence ensued.

"Go on" Konohamaru said.

"There's not really much to say" Hanabi started, absent-mindendly playing with some pebble with her foot. "It's just that... half my life I was told to become someone special and half my life I was told I already am. I was to become the leader of my clan and that's both a blessing and a curse" she sighed. "It's not something you would be able to understand. I just need to prove myself, to become worthy of the future I want."

"Future you want?" he interrupted her. "Or the future that is the least painful and inconvenient for you?"

She hesitated, blinking. Could he?

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean do you really want to be a clan leader? All duties and formalities. That's no fun."

"Fun is..." she was about to say 'for losers', but she reconsidered. "I mean it's the same for you, isn't it? You want to become Hokage for some reason I cannot understand. What is the life of a Hokage? All duties and formalities. No fun."

"No fun? Depends whether you love the village or not."

"Are you insinuating that I don't love my clan" Hanabi asked, slightly offended, though not as much as she thought she would.

"No, you don't" Konohamaru said. "Not anymore. At least not the way I love Konoha."

It was then that she realized something.

"Your name."

"What?"

"Your name" she repeated. "You were named after the village."

"Yeah... that's right" he said with bitterness that didn't go unnoticed by Hanabi.

"You don't like that name?" she asked.

It was his turn to bit his lip.

"You said that I wouldn't be able to understand you" he stated, not asked. "You forget that the Sarutobis are a large clan as well. Maybe not as old, organized or important as the Hyuugas, but..."

"What does that have to do with your name?"

"Everything" he said. "Sure, I'm not able to understand how it feels like when you're told to become someone special, I guess no-ne really expected that of me" he paused for a moment. "But I sure know how it feels when everybody already thinks you're someone you're really not."

"What do you mean?"

"I was named after the village" he explained. "But no-one ever used that name when referring to me. It was always 'honorable grandson'. I was sick of that. Like just by being grandkid of the Third Hokage I was someone great. Like I didn't really need to do anything, to become famous."

"I didn't know that" she admitted.

"Not many people know, really. Back then I felt pressure to either do something great or stop being the grandchild. I figured that beating the current Hokage and becoming his successor was good enough and I tried for days to beat my own grandfather and be recognized as stronger than him."

"Really? You challenged the Hokage when you were not even sixteen?" she asked, a shadow of admiration in her voice.

"Sixteen?" he chuckled. "I wasn't even eight back then. Aw man... It's good Moegi or Udon didn't see that. Me charging at grandpa with shuriken in my hand, screaming 'now you're title is mine, kore!' and then tripping on my own scarf."

At this Hanabi chuckled and covered her mouth to stifle the giggles, but she couldn't control them and laughed out loud.

Konohamaru blinked, realizing he's never heard her laughing before. Smiling? Yes, sometimes. But laughing? Never. He found that he liked to hear her laugh.

"I'd love to see that" she said, already imagining little Konohamaru, rubbing his head with angry eyes, trying to stand up.

"Not happening!" he answered and then cursed. "Ebisu-sensei and Naruto saw that, though."

"You knew Naruto back then?"

"Oh yeah!" he immediately livened up. "He showed me my ninja way and..." he definitely didn't want Hanabi to know what else Naruto has shown him during their brief 'training'. "other... stuff" he finished lamely. "Anyway, I wanted to do things quickly, but he told me that there are no shortcuts on the path to Hokage."

"Your favourite phrase, huh?" she remembered. "Naruto's a really wise person."

"Yeah, every once in a while" he agreed. "Anyway, I know how it is to have pressure on you. I just decided to fight it and do things my way. I have things to prove as well... I just think you are... you were doing it the wrong way."

"Yeah, tell me about it" she replied. "So... care to show me the right way?"

"O-of course!" he exclaimed, barely able to remain calm. "As long as you're willing to tag along with me and the rest of my crazy team."

"I would like that..." she replied.

(* * *)

"Come on! We've been walking through this woods for ages now!" Ino complained. "I'm beginning to think your nose is overrated!"

"And I'm beginning to think you're really starting to sound like Shikamaru" Kiba replied grumpily. "Besides, I just found them."

"Where? I can't see anything."

"There" Kiba pointed in front of them and little to the left. "Let's go."

They got closer and Kiba was about to shout when Ino clamped her hand over his mouth.

"What are you-"

"Shhh..." Ino told him. "Oh Kami, just look at them" she continued gleefully. "Konohamaru and Hanabi under the tree... kissing..."

"They're not..."

"Oh your such a party pooper" Ino scolded him. "Just look at them. The two of them alone... In such a romantic place..."

"Like a spooky forest close to scorched battlefield?"

"You're such a jerk. No wonder you've got no girlfriend."

Kiba just rolled his eyes. He decided to let Ino have her fun. Besides, Konohamaru's clones were already heading in their direction.

But all in all he had to agree with Shikamaru right know.

The girls were troublesome.

(* * *)

"Shizune, after you're finished doing your rounds take these back to my office" the Hokage pointed to a stack of medical reports next to her and then continued to scribble on the piece of paper in front of her.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"And bring me the information about all the new patients. I'll need it in half an hour and-"

She was cut off by a gentle, yet insistent knock on the door. She stopped her writing and looked up, eyes narrowing.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing her guest.

"Ho?" she exclaimed, straightening herself and leaning back on her chair. "I've got to say – I'm surprised to see you."

"Have you not been expecting me, Hokage-sama?" the guest asked after entering the room.

"Frankly, I've expected some less prominent member of the clan."

"This is my daughter we're talking about here" Hyuuga Hiashi remarked, calm as ever.

"I know" Tsunade said and stood up. "That will be all Shizune, leave us."

The dark-haired woman nodded, then bowed slightly and left, closing the door behind her.

"Is she alright?" Hiashi asked immediately.

"Yes, she's fine now" Tsunade replied. "But it could be worse."

"What do you mean?" the Hyuuga clan head asked.

"How much did they tell you?"

Hiashi shifted nervously.

"That some Iwagakure chuunin managed to seal Hanabi's Byakugan with the use of some... some genjutsu. And poisoned her."

"Well, both statements are true to some extent" Tsunade admitted. "But don't worry. The poison was just slow-spreading numbing agent. It has left Hanabi's system without trace by now."

"And about the other issue."

Tsunade sighed and stepped back to lean on her desk.

"The condition to her eyes made it almost impossible to use her kekkei genkai, save for when she used little chakra and it was still painful back then. We, and I mean Shizune and Sakura as well, have managed to analyze the problem and after researching through the chakra patterns, we succeeded in reversing the progress. It required careful chakra probing and surgical jutsu close to her eye nerve and-"

"Do I need to know such details?"

"No" Tsunade admitted. "I just wanted for you to know how hard it was and how easier would it be with some reference material about the biology of your doujutsu."

"You know we can't do that... the council-"

"Oh yes, the council" Tsunade interjected. "I guess that is one obstacle we won't get through."

Hiashi reminded quiet for a moment and then he spoke again.

"So what really have happened? I mean how genjutsu could have caused this? Genjutsu is not real!"

"But we think it is" Tsunade explained. "Simply put, the point of genjutsu is to force the target to do something he would not have done otherwise. Like walk into a wall or fall down a cliff."

"I don't really follow..."

"Byakugan, Sharingan and similar techniques are not really magical. They don't appear from thin air. They are just special chakra organs that grow rapidly when exposed to certain events. In case of Sharingan it is a strong emotional experience. I'm told that 'love' was important to activate the Sharingan" she paused for a moment. "Now, I don't know any specific details about the Byakugan, but the general idea is similar. Your kekkei genkai is just a specialized tissue made of specialized cells that were created during regular cell-creation processes of the body. Genes, hormones, metabolism. Nothing new, really."

"I still don't see how genjutsu fits to all of this."

"It's quite simple actually. The genjutsu wasn't really meant to affect Hanabi's senses. Her sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch remained largely unaffected. The target of that genjutsu were the Byakugan cells. They were led to believe that the eyes condition changed and reacted the way they were meant to. Now, I know that you're aware of the general way your eyes work. Chakra feeding, enhanced blood supply and so on. To put it in simple terms: Hanabi's eyes were like a pipe that was deceived about its condition and became clogged in result. Now the water couldn't flow through, so the eye was not working and if you force the flow, it results in damage. It could be really bad if she put more chakra to her eyes, but I doubt her pain tolerance was enough to continue using it if her eyes were about to bleed" she paused for a moment. "Thankfully, nothing like that happened. She's fine now, but I believe things like that are valuable experiences we should all learn from. And I mean all of us."

"I understand and I am grateful for you taking care of my daughter, Hokage-sama."

"Yeah, yeah" Tsunade waved her hand. "Besides, it's Shizune and Sakura you should be really thanking."

"So... can I see my daughter now?"

"Of course" she answered. "Let's go."

(* * *)

"The poison has been taken care of, but that doesn't mean your body is all healed" Sakura explained slowly, making sure that her patient got everything right. "Your muscles may still feel weak and uncooperative at times, but that's normal."

Hanabi listened to her droning, but it was becoming more and more difficult. Then again, it probably had something to do with all the people in the room.

Ebisu was sleeping in a bed opposite of hers, his glasses on the bed stand. He was the only member of the group without any injuries, a testament to his jounin rank, but he suffered from a severe chakra exhaustion. It seemed he overestimated his chakra supply while under the effects of the soldier pill.

Udon was sitting on his bed, quite a content expression on his usually bored and apathetic face. He got himself some minor scratches and one nasty-looking gush on his stomach, though said gush seemed like the reason hor his good mood.

"A shinobi without a scar is not a shinobi but a loser" he told them proudly. Hanabi doubted that he was this happy when he received the wound though.

Moegi was standing next to the third bed with her hand in a sling. The injury was not very serious, but Sakura suggested it and the orange-haired girl accepted the offer with sparkling eyes. Hanabi expected to have Moegi heal wounds on battlefield some time in the future.

Finally, the third bed itself was occupied by Konohamaru and Naruto. The Uzumaki was completely healthy, he just rushed to the hospital when he heard of their mission and didn't leave until the Hokage let him see them.

Konohamaru, on the other hand, was still covered with bandages in several places. Sakura assured him that they could be taken off really soon, as long as he "sits his fidgeting ass down for five minutes."

That actually shut him up.

Not to mention that both hyperactive boys were sporting considerable head bumps courtesy of Sakura, which was the sole reason that the room was quiet, save for Ebisu's snoring and Sakura's rambling.

"You should rest for a few days" she continued. "No exerting yourself, no chakra-consuming jutsus and most important of all – no physical training. Understood?"

"Yes" Hanabi answered obediently, for once agreeing with both Konohamaru and Naruto – invoking Sakura's wrath was just not worth it.

"Alright" the pink-haired medic nodded. "I think that's all, just be sure to follow my prescriptions and you'll be back in shape in no time-"

At this moment the door opened, making all of them turn their heads and blinked. In the strange silence even Ebisu shifted and woke up, yawning.

"What did I miss?" he asked no-one in particular.

Udon pointed to the door. Ebisu looked that way and sobered up in an instant.

"Errmm..." he muttered. "Good day, Hokage-sama, Hiashi-san."

"Hello, Ebisu" Tsunade replied with smile. "I hope you're feeling better."

"Y-yes, of course."

"That's good to hear. And how about the rest of our patients?"

"They're fine" Sakura answered before anyone else even thought about speaking. "We're actually finished with the medical care. Hanabi, just remember to rest" she told the Hyuuga girl, while pointedly looking at her father, as if the remark was directed to him as well.

"Yes."

"Then, you're free to go."

Hanabi slowly stood up and got off the bed, her body still feeling weak and uncertain.

Meanwhile Hiashi turned to the other two beds and bowed slightly.

"I have heard that you all were taking care of my daughter while on missions. I'm thankful for it. I know she can be a handful."

"Father!"

"Oh, that's my duty, after all!" Ebisu answered, nervousness clearly visible without his glasses.

"Yes, nothing to worry about, we're taking good care of her" Udon supported his sensei. "Right?"

"Yes, of course" Moegi surprisingly agreed, though her smile didn't look that convincing to Hanabi.

"That reminds me" Ebisu said. "What's the status of the mission, actually?"

Tsunade sighed. "Mission completed with some injuries. Some of them actually major. Aoba is going to stay in the hospital for a while. And we'll certainly hear a lot about hospitals being 'troublesome'. I can guarantee that. Still, Iwagakure's got it worse. There were some casualties. We're talk about it tomorrow."

"I didn't know that it was this bad. Then I am even more grateful" Hiashi said and the turned to face Konohamaru. "Especially to you, young Sarutobi. For protecting my daughter."

Hanabi was conflicted whether she should say that she was capable of taking care of herself or just shut up for once, not even bothering to wonder how her father knew about Konohamaru protecting her. However, her dilemma was answered when Konohamaru stood up and bowed in response.

"There's no need to thank me, Hiashi-san" he answered. "It was my duty as a team leader."

All present in the room (except for Hiashi) looked at him with looks ranging from confusion to fear. Naruto's eyes sparkled with understanding and he was about to speak, but was stopped by a death glare from Sakura.

Hanabi was the most speechless of them all. Konohamaru acting all polite and... formal? Could it be that he had some sense on such matters? No. Udon and Moegi had better sense than him, yet they behaved as normal. Come to think of it, Konohamaru has been acting a little strange.

She stopped thinking about it. She already knew all of them well enough to know she would never be able to fully understand them.

"That is good to hear" Hiashi said, straightening up. "The village needs such people. Now, excuse me, but we will have to get going. Let's go Hanabi."

"Yes, Father" she said, then turned to others. "Goodbye everyone, I wish you all quick return to health" she said, bowing slightly and not seeing shocking expression on all of their faces.

Hanabi followed her father out of the room. However, after several steps she stopped and turned around to look through the still open door. The group was already in a middle of some lively conversation. She watched them for a moment, from Moegi scolding Udon and Konohamaru talking loudly to Ebisu trying to get them to calm down.

Seems like her teammates have returned to their normal ridiculous behavior.

Those idiots, she thought, while a small smile graced her lips.

"Hanabi" she heard her father speak. "Is something wrong?"

"No" she answered, turning back and continuing to walk.

"Nothing at all."

**(* * *)**

**It's probably safe to say that "people, we have a breakthrough here!"**

**I'm curious what will happen next. Are you?  
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**If you are, let me know with your reviews, comments and other stuff. Constructive critique is welcome as always.**

**Till next time!**

**P.S. References sponsored by The Chronicles of Riddick and by The Witcher (book).**


	15. Back in action

**Welcome back everybody!**

**Here is the newest chapter of the Flowers of Trees. But before you start reading I have a few short (I hope) announcements.**

**First, I'm sorry about the delay. I just needed 2–3 weeks to get other things done. Moreover, I think one chapter per 3 or 4 weeks will be my default posting frequency from now on. We'll see. But at least this chapter is long, possibly longer that the last one (and I have no idea how it happened... it was supposed to be 3000 words max :/). I just hope it's worth the wait.**

**Second, many thanks to ZelgadisGW from DeviantArt for preparing a new story icon for me (it should be visible already). I was really planning to use the old one throughout the whole story, but I decided to use this one. If you want to thank Zelgadis, go see his works and drop him a comment. He'll appreciate that. And maybe then he'll draw some more important scenes from my story in the future ;).  
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**Okay, enough talking. Here's the chapter:**

**Disclaimer: I do not anything outside of the story itself... What a surprise...**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

Hanabi was walking through the outskirts of Konoha, largely unaware of the people she was passing, immersed in her own little world. It was a few days after the Iwagakure mission and her body was finally fine. I mean, her body was fine after just one day really. She was sure she was ready to return to duty back then... but Sakura's eyes glared with authority and promise of pain if she disobeyed, so she decided to play along. Well, she could manage Sakura... it was just that Hokage was giving her that look too...

But now she was finally fine. She couldn't wait to finally use her Byakugan on a real mission, not just some mock tests. She couldn't wait to throw some kunais, jump through branches and rooftops and kick some asses. It was time to get back to training and doing regular missions.

With her team.

No... "Team" was an easy concept. "Teammates" proved a little more difficult than she had originally thought. And "interactions between teammates" turned out to be far more complicated than "teammates" itself.

Which was why right now she was walking instead of jumping rooftops.

She's messed up. She's messed up bad, and she's messed up, because she didn't understand some things that she still doesn't understand for the most part. Which means there will be more trouble which will be entirely her fault.

Well, maybe it won't be that bad. Udon will probably be happy that things are better than they were before and will keep quiet just to stay away from trouble. Ebisu-sensei will behave similarly, he'll just make her do something as punishment and then he'll try to forget the issue for the sake of keeping his job simple.

And then there was Konohamaru... The boy would probably be glad to have his team back on the track. Stupid little boy... with a big heart and big smile... The boy who dreamed of becoming Hokage one day... Hanabi's brain told her that Hokage like him would live the village in financial ruin in a matter of months... weeks maybe... But some other side of her couldn't help but think differently. The boy's determination, care for the village and its people... With a proper set of advisors him becoming Hokage was not so terrible, similar to Naruto. Yes, she still thought that is was bad, stupid and unrealistic... but nos as terrible as before.

No... she wasn't afraid of him acting weird or anything... In fact, she was more concerned with herself. Whenever she thought of him she felt kind of... nervous and anxious. Like she now know that she was supposed to act different, but didn't know how.

And then there was her real problem.

Moegi.

Now, that the team seemed back to normal, the girl was sure to resume her strange feud against her... Hanabi recalled how she's been slapped by her on that stupid mission. It was the most weird thing of them all. And the problem wasn't "why did she slapped me in the first place". No. The Hyuugas were trained as capable shinobi from the beginning, heirs especially. She was a woman and petite at that, she was painfully aware of it, yet she was taught to endure pain. And she learned it the hard and... painful way. Punches, kicks, mental attacks, kunais, shurikens... as long as they didn't hit any vital spot, she was quite capable of taking all of them and with minimal whining. Long story short – she was used to pain.

So the real question was "why did that one slap affected her this much?" It hurt in a way that a slap shouldn't. It wasn't even a proper punch, for Kami's sake! And she was already healed, Sakura made sure of that. So why did her cheek still stung when she thought of that slap? Was her brain playing tricks on her?

She sighed and raised her head only to notice that she has arrived at her team's meeting spot – a small wooden bridge close to the training grounds.

And it seems she was the first to arrive. She sighed again.

She left the Hyuuga compound earlier and walked instead of running, planning to arrive when the rest of her team was already there. It was good strategy, she figured, to get away from the compound, when her daily life felt more like a test with each passing day. It was a good strategy.

Except it was failure...

She leant on the wooden railing and gazed at her reflection in the shallow water, calm enough to resemble a mirror.

Failure...

Maybe that's what she really was afterwards... Denied one thing that she was supposed to do... the only thing she was really trained to do properly... and now she had nothing to replace it with it... No place to belong.

"I'm such a mess..." she said out loud.

And then a voice brought her out of her reverie.

"Hey" it sounded from one of the nearby building, a restaurant. Hanabi was tempted to activate her Byakugan to see who it was, but she had a pretty decent guess. "I didn't expect anyone this early, so..." the voice died out when its owner appeared on the street and halted instantly.

Oh, crap, Hanabi thought to herself when her suspicion turned out to be true.

It was Moegi.

"Oh" the girl said with a look on her face that couldn't be good. Hanabi braced herself for whatever argument was sure to start. "It's you... I-I mean I've been expecting someone else."

Hanabi blinked, once again feeling out of her element.

"Sorry it's just me then" she replied, trying to keep her voice deprived of warmth or coldness, happiness or bitterness. With a surprise though, she noticed she couldn't pull it as well as she used to.

"Yeaaah..." the other girl said slowly, as if unsure of herself as well and then... she started walking towards her. Hanabi wondered if she was about to slap her again. Her cheek stung at that thought.

"Where are the others?" Hanabi asked the only thing that came to mind.

Moegi was close now and it was her turn to blink and scowl. Then she sighed and turned her back to the railing, leaning as well. "I don't know" she answered. "It's pretty normal for Udon to be late... and as for Konohamaru that idiot is unable to get early unless someone kicks him out of his bed" she paused for a moment. "He'll make up for it during training though. Ebisu's usually on time, but something might've come up. Things happen, you know?"

"Oh" Hanabi answered, realizing she was about to spend some time with the orange-haired girl before others arrive.

It was quiet for a moment with Moegi observing the road in both directions and Hanabi wondering whether she should dodge or stay firm when another slap came her way.

"Just so you know" Moegi finally spoke. "I'm still angry with you for messing with Ko-with us like that!"

Hanabi turned to her. "I know, I've caused you a lot of trouble and I'm really sorry for that" she answered and bowed. "You can beat me if it will help you feel better."

"Hmpf! What a stupid idea" Moegi replied. "Why would I beat a teammate...? especially a valuable one".

Hanabi raised her head and blinked once more. Moegi... recognizing her strength? Normally, she would be proud to be praised like that, but for some reason she wasn't. This whole thing was weird and she started to think whether this was really Moegi.

"Well" the girls's voice once again snapped Hanabi from her thoughts. "I guess you learned something. And Konohamaru seems to believe in you... so... I'll try to ignore what you did back then, however" she turned to look at Hanabi with a scary look she copied from Sakura, Hanabi was sure of that. "If you do something like that ever again..."

"I won't" Hanabi responded quickly. "I promise that," Not that she was scared of the orange-haired girl going after her in battle (well, maybe except that slap of hers), but she had a feeling that having Moegi against her was a bad thing.

"So... we're good?" Hanabi asked. "Just like that?"

"Just like that" Moegi answered.

Then it was silent for a few moments, during which Hanabi contemplated whether to touch another topic. Finally, she decided to use this rare chance.

"And... what about the other thing?"

At this Moegi turned to her with surprised look on her face. "What other thing?"

"Well you know..." Hanabi started. "The thing when you get angry at me for reasons I don't get" she paused and recalled Udon's speech about Moegi. She continued, not realizing that Moegi hasn't said a word. "Udon said that you were angry because I am your first female teammate... that this is some sort of rivarly between girls, but I don't get it..."

"He" Moegi interrupted her. "He really said that?"

"Yeah..."

Moegi lowered her head. "I'mreallygoingtokillthisidiot" she mumbled.

"Could you repeat that? I didn't get it."

"Nothing! It's nothing really!" Moegi answered quickly, her face going pink.

"So..." Hanabi resumed her efforts after a moment. "Can you tell me what's this all about? If it's about difference in our combat abilities, then look I have trained since I've been a kid and a clan lineage does make a difference and-"

"It's not that!" Moegi cut her off. "I mean... yeah it's a part of it, but it's not a big deal. As long as you're not breaking our team apart and don't act like some know-it-all bitch then I don't care how strong you are... for the most part..."

"Then why..." Hanabi prodded gently.

"Guh! You really have some guts to ask about this, you know?" Moegi told her and her face was all red now, aflame even. Something that Hanabi usually rarely noticed or cared about, but it was impossible to miss. Hanabi wondered briefly, how she herself looked when she was blushing like that... what with her pale skin and all...

Then Moegi mumbled. "Konohamaru."

"Excuse me?"

"It's about Konohamaru."

Hanabi was confused. "I said I was sorry and you said it was okay and-"

"No..." Moegi interjected. "I don't mean it like that!"

"Then what?"

Moegi's cheeks were still red, but she sighed and turned to face Hanabi.

"What do you think of him?"

"Of Konohamaru?"

"Duh! Who else?"

"He's... a Konoha shinobi and Sarutobi clan member?" Hanabi started unsure of what she was supposed to think about him. "I don't know much about of the hierarchy of his clan, but he's the grandson of the Third Hokage, so he'll be important member in the future, I guess."

Moegi looked at her strangely. "Go on..." she prodded.

"Umm... Frankly He's an idiot who lacks basic training and discipline, but shows strange talent for bizarre jutsus and skills... He's a fun-loving carefree loudmouth and an incorrigible dreamer... But he's strong shinobi, capable leader and good friend... I presume."

Moegi continued to stare at her. When no new words came for a few moments she asked. "That's it?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say what you think of him privately... And not as a kunoichi, but as a girl."

"I don't get it... what's the difference?"

Moegi moaned in frustration. "Like... do you like being with him? Do you think he's handsome, good-looking and attractive? Do you... do you like him?"

Hanabi was flabbergasted and was about to open her mouth, despite the fact that she didn't know what she intended to say to that, when she was interrupted once again.

"I told you, everyone was here already."

Both girls turned immediately, noticing Udon and Konohamaru approaching their meeting place. Both boys were looking similarly apathetic, which was normal for Udon and indicated that Konohamaru was reluctant about waking up.

What a surprise.

"Good morning" Udon greeted them.

"Mornin' eeeveryooone" Konohamaru echoed him, while yawning and rubbing sleep from his eyes at the same time. Through some kind of sixth sense he noticed that both girls had clenched fists, twitching brows and glares pointed at him. "Um... What a nice day for a good training session... He he..." the young Sarutobi added with one of his hands rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah, good to know you managed to get out of your bed" Moegi replied. "Which doesn't change the fact that you're late."

"It's not our fault" Udon defended. "We met Ebisu-sensei on the way and he delayed us."

"Now that you mention him, where is he?" Moegi asked.

"Well, he said he had some important business to attend to and asked that we do our training session without him for now."

"So what-mhh" Hanabi started, but was quickly silenced when Moegi put her hand over the Hyuuga's mouth.

"That's fine" Moegi chirped sweetly. "Then the two of us are going for a private girl-only training session" she stated. "You boys have fun on your own. See you later!" and with this she practically dragged poor Hanabi towards the training grounds.

By now Konohamaru was completely awake, his eyes wide open. "What the hell has just happened?" he shouted.

"No idea" Udon replied. "And I'm not really sure I want to know... so... how about a spar?"

(* * *)

"What is the meaning of this?" Hanabi questioned, unable to comprehend why she allowed herself to be dragged like that.

They have arrived at the training grounds, an open space filled with nothing but dirt, not far away from those memorable wooden stakes.

"What do you mean?" Moegi answered her as if what she was doing was the most normal thing in the world. "We're going to train. How about a little sparring without kekkei genkais?"

"Wait a moment... I still don't know wh-"

"You're not trying to run away from a challenge, are you?" Moegi chimed in. "Or are you afraid you're too weak after the last miss-"

Before she finished speaking Hanabi was already in her fighting stance.

"You're on!" she hissed, fire in her eyes. Seemed like that orange-haired menace already forgot how superior to her she was in one-on-one battle.

Moegi just smiled... That girl was so easy to read and rile... this could actually be fun.

"Okay then, let's go!"

Hanabi didn't have to be told twice, she quickly jumped forward, kunai in her hand, but Moegi was prepared and dodged easily. Hanabi followed with a roundhouse kick, but it was blocked as well.

"So... do you?" Moegi asked suddenly.

"Wha...?" was all that Hanabi managed to say before Moegi grabbed her kicking leg and spun violently. Hanabi was surprised, but reacted quickly, one swift hop and she was out of range.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"You hadn't answered my question."

"What question?"

"Duh!" Moegi facepalmed. "Konohamaru. Do you like him?"

Hanabi's stare went blank.

"What do you... Why are you asking this now?" Hanabi bounced the question back at her. "We are supposed to be training!"

"Oh we are..."

"Training, not talking!"

"We can do both at the same time, don't you think?" Moegi then charged at Hanabi and the two clashed, their kunais meeting with sparks.

"Talk during battle is a sign of weakness!"

"Only when you're too primitive to do two things at once!"

Two people can play that game, Hanabi thought and suddenly retracted her kunai, making Moegi lose her balance. Hanabi then followed with a back kick, that was barely evaded. Both girls then proceeded to stab each other with their kunais and grabbed each other knives.

The battle become battle of strength now, as each girl tried to get free from the other's grasp. Hanabi realized that such static position was bad news for her. She was agile and fast, but she was also slim and light. As much as she didn't want to admit it, in terms of physical strength Moegi might be better than her. Plain and simple.

But, Hanabi still had one more strategy.

"I think I do" she asked.

"What?" Moegi asked, though it didn't have the effect Hanabi had hoped for.

"I mean, Konohamaru's an idiot that has severe discipline issues, but he can be a strong shinobi and possibly a leader. Why would I dislike him?"

Strangely, this had some effect, as Moegi blinked and her hands went somewhat limp, a weakness that Hanabi exploited immediately, swiftly disarming the orange-haired girl and delivering a kick to her stomach that connected and sent Moegi flying good ten feet backwards.

Now, that felt good.

"Ugh..." Moegi grumbled, slowly raising to a sitting position. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Why? I won fair and square. Again." Hanabi closed her eyes and lifted her head proudly, even allowing for a small smile of self-satisfaction. She knew it was a little arrogant, childish even, but it was her first feeling of accomplishment in what seemed like weeks, so she couldn't really stop herself.

"C'mon, I didn't kick you that hard."

"What?" Moegi cried out. "That's not what I mean! The other thing!"

"Huh?"

"I didn't ask if you liked Konohamaru like a shinobi, teammate, fighter or leader, for Kami's sake!"

"Then like what?"

"Ugh!" Moegi covered her face with her hand and then tucked the hair that got out of her ponytail of of her eyes. "You really don't know what I mean?"

"Umm..." there it was again. The feeling of being left out. Oh, how she hated this one. "No...?"

"A boy!" Moegi practically shouted with frustration. "I'm asking if you like Konohamaru as a boy!"

Hanabi was flabbergasted again. What Konohamaru's being a boy had to do with anything? Did the girl believe in all that "boys are stronger than girls" crap? For all Hanabi knew the only time the Konohamaru's gender really mattered was when she or Hinata would become the official heiress and their father starts to look for a suitable spouses for them. Even with his idiocy Konohamaru would be considered a possible choice, being a part of a renowned clan and (unlikely) Hokage candidate.

For Kami's sake! Moegi was making this such a big deal, talking almost as if she herself wanted to...

And then it clicked.

"Ooh" Hanabi muttered, her eyes going wide with realization, especially since she had no real prior experience with this topic. "I get it now!"

Moegi, who managed to stand up in the meantime, blinked and then breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally... Seriously, how dumb-"

"You and him want to marry!" Hanabi said, glad she finally got it right.

"Whaaat?!" Moegi was yelling now, making Hanabi even more confused.

"So..." she started. "You don't want to marry him?"

"No!" she yelled back. "I mean... yes... No! I mean... The marriage comes after! Way after!"

That really got Hanabi worried. She was not exactly happy with how things were currently in her clan and wasn't really looking to official live of a noble filled with rules, but she had thought that she had these rules covered. Memorized and understood. So to say that Moegi's words turned her view on the matter upside down was an understatement.

"After? After what?"

"The dating, talking, getting to know each other, holding hands" Moegi answered, her face red with both anger and embarrassment. She was making a step towards Hanabi with each word. "Ki-kissing, cuddling, and some... other stuff!"

"Really?" Hanabi asked.

"Of course!" Moegi replied, now really close to the Hyuuga girl, making her involuntarily lean back. "How else would you know that you love the person you're going to marry?"

Hanabi tilted her head sideways, like if she was in a zoo, looking at a particularly interesting animal.

"Love is not a prerequisite of marriage..." she stated matter-of-factly.

"Ugh... you mean like... In your clan all marriages are arranged by your parents? To get the best political ties and offsprings?"

"Yeah..."

That shut Moegi up, probably thinking about what she's just learned.

Hanabi started to think as well. It was actually pretty possible that the marriage and courting rituals outside of major clans were different than inside them, especially for non-shinobi population. Come to think of it, she did remember some of Hinata's ramblings. While shy and timid in general, her older sister was capable of long, fast and girly speeches once in a while. Hanabi was only pretending to listen to most of them, but she recalled that some actually resolved around courting in a manner very similar to what Moegi was saying.

"So... let me check if I got this right" Hanabi spoke, getting Moegi's attention. "You want to... You like Konohamaru... as a boy?"

Moegi watched her for a moment and Hanabi started to think that she crossed some invisible line...

"I can't believe I started it and I'm having this conversation with you of all people" the orange-haired girl said. "But... yes... I like Konohamaru-kun. Like, really like him."

"And you were picking fights with me because?"

"Because I thought you may like him too, alright?"

Hanabi nodded, though she did not fully understand. She was still only a chuunin with unstable position inside of her own clan. Why would she trouble herself with the young Sarutobi, especially since it was the clan who made all the arrangements and then it was the job of the male to court the female.

But she did understand the point. Hanabi bowed, chosing the formal approach to address this issue once and for all.

"That is not the case, Hatsuko-san. I am very sorry for all the misunderstanding."

"Yeah..."

"As an apology, allow me to assist you in any way necc-"

"No, no!" Moegi interrupted her, arms flailing and face aflame. "There's no need for that! Thank you. I'll be... We'll be fine!"

"Very well... If you say so" Hanabi paused for a moment. "So... does this mean that we are... umm..."

"Good? Yes, we're good."

Hanabi sighed. Well, as weird as it was, it went better than she expected. Maybe, this will be a good day after all.

(* * *)

"So how's it going?" Udon asked with a smile, doing his best to avoid his friend's punches.

They were trading blows in a more secluded area of the forest growing all over the training grounds.

"How is what going?" Konohamaru asked back, already not liking the goofy grin on his teammate's face.

"You know" Udon somehow shrugged his arms in mid-air. "Trying to woo one of your teammates? The one you got a crush on? Rings any bells?"

"This is NOT funny!" Konohamaru told him, while throwing few shurikens, completely off mark. "I thought you said that I've got your support!"

"I did" Udon confirmed, trying to keep fighting at a safe distance. "Which is exactly why I'm checking on the... progress."

"There's no progress" Konohamaru's frustrated voice followed Udon when they were both navigating through trees. "Besides I told you it'll go away eventually."

"After your last romantic date? Yeah, right" Udon rolled his eyes, though he noted that he couldn't outmaneuver him and Konohamaru was starting to gain on him. "When your fifty maybe it'll go away. Who are you kidding?"

"It was NOT a date... it was a dangerous ninja battle!" Konohamaru sped up. "Nothing more."

"I'm not buying it!" they returned to a mêlée combat once more. "What with how distracted you get around her."

"I. Do. Not."

"Of course, you do" Udon scoffed at him. "Especially when she's watching you. Like right now for example."

"Wha!" Konohamaru started to look around. "I can't see her any-ow!" he exclaimed when Udon punched him right in the face.

"Told you so!" he said, while running away.

But Konohamaru was already in hot pursuit.

"Come back here, so I can kick your ass!"

"Nope!" Udon said, looking over his shoulder, only to notice that Konohamaru was gone.  
>He stopped at the nearest branch, looking frantically for his friend's whereabouts. And then he felt a sharp jab at his back.<p>

"Looking for me?" Konohamaru asked from behind his back.

"How did you do that?"

"Yield!" the kunai dug into his back a little deeper.

"Alright, alright, you win."

Konohamaru removed the knife from his back. "Okay, let's rest for a while."

"Rest?" Udon questioned once they're seated on the ground. "That's unusual of you."

"Oh, c'mon gimme a break... I'm not talking about this during combat..."

"...because it's to distracting" Konohamaru shot him a glare. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. A little change after years of you messing with me... and I think I actually need to rest."

"Yeah, no kidding..."

"But seriously dude... I'm just trying to help you. The two of you would make a cute couple, don't you think?"

"Right, and then you could have Moegi all for yourself... assuming she doesn't kill all of us with a single punch" Konohamaru paused for a moment. "I think we should keep her away from Sakura. Just to be sure that monster don't teach her any new combat techniques."

"I hear you, bro..."

For a moment the only sound was the rustling of leaves, but then Konohamaru decided that he may as well let Udon give his advice. His was the smartest on the team after all.

"So... what do you suggest I do?"

"For now?" Udon questioned. "With Hanabi being antisocial and all? Nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing'?"

"Just don't let her know that you like her, okay?" Udon explained. "And don't let her know about your... condition."

"What condition?" Konohamaru seemed genuinely confused.

"You know exactly what condition" Udon told him. "Girls are not taking too kind to perverted boys. If Sakura, Moegi and Tsunade-sama are anything to go by."

"Good point" Konohamaru admitted, albeit with difficulty.

"Anyway, I have a feeling that, for some reason, you don't stand a chance with her at the moment, so just try not to make it worse, okay?"

"Yeah..."

"What are you talking about?" both boys immediately stood up and turned to the source of the voice...

...only to see Hanabi striding slowly in their direction, followed by Moegi, who was clearly out of breath.

"What happened to you?" Udon asked Moegi, completely ignoring Hanabi's question.

"Ask... her..." the orange-haired girl gestured in the general direction of the Hyuuga, making both boys raise their eyebrows. "She's a freaking monster! Huff... I don't remember ever being this tired by few simple duels... Ever."

"You just lack proper training rigor" Hanabi remarked, but without any ill intent.

At this Udon turned to Konohamaru and discreetly winked at him, then turned back to the girls.

"That's right, I think Hanabi-san is not a proper sparring partner for Moegi" he said. "So how about we exchange partners?"

Moegi raised her head, thinking he was about to pair her with Konohamaru, only to be grabbed by arm, proving it was her turn to be dragged away with her arms flailing about.

In the end result, Konohamaru and Hanabi were left or alone. What a blessing.

Or a curse.

"Is it a common occurrence?" Hanabi asked after a moment.

"What?"

"Do you often drag people around like this?"

"No... It just happens... I'm as confused as you are, really."

"Good" Hanabi responded. "I was beginning to think that it was another strange thing I can't understand."

"Oh... It is strange... Trust me, all members of my team are strange."

"So, I'm not that different from you?"

"Yes... and no. It's complicated."

"I see..."

And then there was awkward silence. At least for Konohamaru, who found it rather difficult to be this close to Hanabi. Oh, he had no problem with watching her from a safe distance, but being alone with her and possible center of her attention was making him really nervous. Especially, since he was now remembering what she was doing to him the last time she got really close to him. He immediately concluded that sparring with her was not a good idea. And he should definitely avoid looking into her eyes, those beautiful lilac... Ugh! Not helping!

The silence was stretching and Konohamaru was torn between saying something and remaining quiet. It was becoming more and more awkward for him, but Hanabi may enjoy the silence for all he knew.

His musings came to a stop, when he got a very distinct feeling, the feeling of being watched. He started to look around, expecting to spot someone he knew or even some enemy, but he was proved wrong when he noticed that it was Hanabi who was looking at him.

Intensely.

"Why are you looking at me?" he asked.

"Huh?" she asked back, her eyes shifting to his. So much for not looking into her eyes. Keep it together, Sarutobi, just keep calm, he told himself.

"You were looking at me" he clarified, feeling kind of weird. "Why?"

"Eerm... no reason?" Hanabi replied hastily and then both of them experienced a strong and very specific feeling of déjà vu.

"Sorry" she said, turning her head away.

Scare away girls that are looking at you, way to go, Sarutobi, Konohamaru thought to himself.

In the meantime Hanabi was mentally kicking herself. She didn't know why she did that. She was simply curious...

From what Moegi said, she had deduced that the orange-haired girl considered Konohamaru good-looking and attractive. Now, Hanabi was not new to the concept of aesthetics. She was a noble and a possible heiress of her clan, which pretty much obligated her to look tidy and dignified. The occasional dirt and blood of her enemies on her clothes and her short temper made it a little difficult at times, but she knew how to look good. And while she wasn't as good-looking as her older sister (which was actually a valid reason to get angry at her, knowing that she has no chance to defeat Hinata in that aspect), she was at least average. Thus, she was pretty much capable of distinguishing between good- and bad-looking people. In other words, she certainly knew an ugly boy when she saw one.

And Konohamaru was definitely not one of those...

His clothes were a bit weird (especially that scarf, for which she saw no purpose) and his hair was ruffled and spiky, though it didn't make it look bad. But, all in all, he was quite pleasing to the eye actually... even with those red cheeks he was now sporting for some reason.

Ugh! What was she doing?

"We should be training" she said finally, making Konohamaru look at her.

"You mean to spar with each other?" Konohamaru asked. There it goes... another chance to mess up.

Hanabi remained quiet for a moment, recalling the words of her father.

"I have a different idea" she stood up. "I admit you have considerable combat potential, especially with diversions" she continued, making Konohamaru blush even more. "But your skills are very rough and you also lack a proper training schedule."

That made Konohamaru deflate slightly.

"Yeah, I know" he admitted, not having a clue where she was going with it.

"So let's make a deal" Hanabi proposed, making him perk up. "I'll help you with your general discipline-oriented training and in exchange you will teach me some of yours out-of-the-box strategies and techniques."

"Okaaay" Konohamaru responded hesitantly. "What techniques would you like to know?"

Hanabi knew exactly what kind of techniques she wanted to learn first.

"Let's start with the kage bunshin no jutsu."

To her surprise Konohamaru winced slightly.

"I doubt this technique will be useful to you" he told her.

This made her blink. "Why not?"

"It requires a considerable amount of chakra and stamina" he explained, slightly distracted when she put one of her hands on her hip and gave him her full attention. "I mean... you have to give each clone enough chakra to be effective. I can manage two or three clones with no problem, but five or six are tough already. Anymore than that is not recommended. There's a reason kage bunshin is a forbidden ninjutsu."

"That's not true, I'm sure I saw you create more clones and-"

"Yeah, but I created them only once and my chakra reserves were mostly drained afterwards. I'm just good with four to five clones, no more."

"I have better chakra control and two or three are fine for me, but we can try it some other time. For now we can try something different."

"Like what?" he asked, but had a very good idea what she had in mind.

"The rasengan."

This made him sigh.

"The rasengan is a really complicated jutsu" he started. "Remember what Naruto said? It was created by the Fourth Hokage by observing bijuu's attacks. As far as I know, only five people ever knew how to use it, two of them are dead."

"You mean it is forbidden to teach it?"

"No, but..."

"Oh c'mon... If you could learn it, then I don't see a reason no to try it. Please."

Konohamaru winced again, facing his two new problems. First, she really might get the hang of it, what will her skills in chakra sensing and control. And second, he just realized that he was incapable of saying "no" to her.

"Alright... deal."

"Perfect" she smiled. "Show me this technique once again."

"Okay, this technique is a powerful A-rank technique that requires no handseals and relies heavily on shape manipulation" Konohamaru explained, recalling what Naruto told him before. "And creation of a proper rasengan includes three major steps."

"Go on" Hanabi said, sounding almost impatient.

Konohamaru made a shadow clone.

"First, you have to gather your chakra and rotate it in all directions, like that" he performed the first step, with his clone tugging at the chakra it that funny way, quickly achieving the miniature hurricane.

Hanabi activated her Byakugan, relishing in the familiar feeling, and took a closer look at the technique. As before, she was amazed at the wild and completely random flow of chakra. It was chaotic, yet elegant. Dangerous and beautiful. Yet, it looked somewhat off.

"Last time it looked different, I think."

"It's just the first step" Konohamaru noted. "Now, when you have enough random rotation to pop a water balloon, you get into the second step" he increased the chakra output, kicking up a cloud of dust and making her hair float wildly. "The next step is not just rotation, but power" he explained. "You must gather enough chakra to break apart a rubber ball with chakra alone. This requires a lot of concentration, all chakra focused in a single point."

Hanabi only nodded, the only indication she was listening to him and not just admiring the technique.

"Now, you have enough power to do some damage, but the chakra will dissipate if you hit your enemy like that. You have to contain the chakra instead."

"That's what the third step is for?" she asked.

"Yes" he answered. "You need to contain the chakra inside a certain area and keep it under control, so it doesn't destroy an empty balloon" she watched as the chakra shrunk and sharpened into the shape of a ball. "And you have to keep the rotation and power at the maximum" the chakra flow intensified, starting to give off the familiar vibe and making her shiver. "Then the chakra will not scatter and the technique will drill itself into whatever you hit it with."

Hanabi watched as Konohamaru stopped the technique and dispelled his clone.

"So" Konohamaru said after a moment. "You still want to try?"

"Yes" Hanabi answered quickly, already imagining the surprised faces of her father and sister when she showed them her new technique.

She extended her hand and started gathering the chakra. Soon enough she could see a cloud of dispersed chakra.

Now to rotate it, she thought.

She started to imagine the flow of chakra and her gentle fist training proved useful when the chakra started to spin wildly.

"Wow" Konohamaru mumbled and then put his hands over his mouth. He hadn't intended to say this!

"This is surprisingly easy so far" Hanabi remarked, too absorbed to notice his fidgeting.

And to think it taken me days to do it, Konohamaru thought.

"Okay, now for power" she said.

"Yes" Konohamaru confirmed and then stood up and started to step back away from her.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" Hanabi asked.

"Nothing. Go on."

Hanabi eyed him suspiciously for a moment and then shrugged and returned to the task at hand. She increased the chakra output, concentrating on rotating the new chakra and merging her with the existing chakra typhoon.

It went well, the chakra grew in intensity, albeit slowly. And then, when pouring more chakra into her fist, she noticed that some of the chakra seep away and disperse.

"You need to concentrate it all in the center" Konohamaru reminded her.

"I know!" she responded a little harsher than she intended, but it was difficult to keep both her tone and the chakra hurricane under control.

For a few moments she continued to increase her chakra output and tried to focus all the power, but soon she noticed that while the power was reaching what Konohamaru has shown her earlier, the shape was getting distorted.

In a last-ditch effort she put her other hand on top of the first, trying to squeeze all the chakra in the center and then...

...the technique in her hands exploded violently, sending her tumbling backwards.

A moment later she found herself lying on the ground, good teen feet away from where she was previously standing. Her entire body was aching, particularly her hands.

So much for trying to do this jutsu without her own shadow clone.

She tried to stand up, only to notice the extended hand of Konohamaru. She blinked and then realized that he expected this outcome. Embarrassed, she took his hand and he helped her stand up and then stepped back.

"I told you this was more difficult than it looks."

"Ugh, I don't understand" she responded. "It was going so good and I was concentrating pretty well."

"I think you're just not used to handling that much chakra at once" he tried to cheer her up. "This jutsu requires you to pour a lot of chakra using you hands alone. Before you get it right expect to get some chakra burns."

She nodded. Indeed, the Juuken only required her to inject little chakra from her hand, while Kaiten expelled chakra from all the body. She never focused so much chakra in single part of her body. That also explained while her hands hurt so much.

"So it's that difficult, huh?"

Konohamaru sighed. "Believe me, the third step is the hardest. Especially, when you have to use all the power and rotation at the same time."

Hanabi looked at her hands and couldn't help but be disappointed. It must have shown on her face, because Konohamaru spoke again.

"Don't worry, it took me weeks to be able to use this move. Actually, you did better than I did for my first try. Much better. I guess that's the advanced chakra control for you."

She was about to thank him, when another voice cut in.

"There you are."

A lone figure landed in a small space between them. Hanabi's eyes widened when she recognized the person.

"You!"

"Oh, hello there."

"Sai?" Konohamaru was surprised as well. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you that, Muffler" the raven-haired boy replied with a smile. "What are you doing here, alone with Miss Firecr-" he was cut off when Hanabi latched onto his neck strangling him.

"Fire-what?" Konohamaru asked, confused.

"Nothing! It was nothing" Hanabi cried out. "Right?" she added in the direction of Sai, who nodded quickly, his pale face slowly turning unhealthy shade of blue. She released her hold, allowing him to breathe. She used this moment to whisper in his ear "Mention this even once to anyone and you're dead, got it?"

"Clear as day" Sai answered with an uneasy smile.

"What are you doing here?" Konohamaru asked again. "I thought you were still in the hospital."

"Ah, yes" Sai replied. "But the Hag's healing abilities are remarkable, so I'm back on my feet now. Anyway, I can't stay here and talk, I have other ink clones looking for the rest of your team."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sai smiled, before making a handseal. "Our Hokage awaits you with a new mission. Now, hurry up" he concluded and immediately turned into a blotch of ink.

**(* * *)**

**So...**

**We have a new mission coming up, Moegi-Hanabi talk and a peace treaty (at least for now) and Ebisu going somewhat missing.**

**I wonder what'll happen next... we are only at the beginning of this arc after all.**

**Till next time!**

**P.S. Today's reference is sponsored by Transformers Prime.**


	16. Babysitting

**Hello everyone!**

**Here's the newest chapter after another three weeks of waiting! And it's a little shorter this time.**

**I hope the chapter-per-three-weeks strategy works for you. Unfortunately, that's the way it stays as September and October will be busy and stressful months for me...**

**Well, I hope you will like this chapter. If you do, don't hesitate to drop me a review. Constructive critique is welcome as well.**

**I would also like to remind you that this story contains spoilers. You should also remember about the other warnings from my pre-prologue note. They might come in handy soon.**

**Onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and I own this fanfic... I think...**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

"What do you mean a C-rank mission?" Konohamaru asked with his usual loud voice. However, Hanabi, Moegi and Udon didn't wince at all. Their opinions were similar.

"I mean exactly what I said" Tsunade answered, already mildly irritated. "This will be a C-rank escorting mission."

"But-"

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama" Hanabi interrupted, bowing slightly and trying to hide her irritation as well. "Isn't a jounin and four chunnins an overkill for a typical B-rank mission?"

"Normally, yes" the Hokage answered, her and Konohamaru still glancing daggers at each others. "But not in this case. First, Ebisu has been assigned a different mission for a few days and he won't be able to accompany you on this mission..."

Tsunade stopped and basked in silence created by this news.

"W-wait a moment" Udon started after a moment. "If Ebisu-sensei is not coming with us, then who will lead us?"

"I was getting to that" Tsunade replied. "This mission wll be with just the four of you. And I guess the job of leading such a group is but a simple task to the likes of a Hokage candidate. Isn't that right, Konohamaru-taichou?"

The boy in question remained silent for a moment, as if he didn't hear anything.

"Um... Konohamaru-kun" Moegi got closer, worried a little. "Is everyth-"

"Of course!" the boy shouted, completely ignoring the rest of them. "That's not a problem at all! What's the mission then?" he finished eagerly, making each of his teammate think a different thing.

'Hmpf! I guess that's the best choice in this situation.'

'Yes, Konohamaru-kun. I'm happy for you!'

'That was smooth, Hokage-sama...'

"As I said" Tsunade started, apparently pleased with herself. "It's an escort mission. There's a noble family which owns quite a bit of land and other properties. They are civilians, but I guess their family position is similar to our higher-end clans."

"Like Hyuuga and Senju?" Udon asked, all of them glancing at Hanabi, who felt a sudden surge of nervousness.

"I would think so" the Hokage confirmed. "Using their money, they can travel all around the shinobi world when on vacation. It just so happens that they choose Konohagakure as some kind of summer resort. We have a few attractions here, so I think it's not unreasonable."

"So..." Moegi started. "There's a group of civilians we have to guard while in Konoha? That's hardly a C-rank mission."

"Quite the opposite. It's not about guarding them in Konoha. It's about guarding them during their trip home" Tsunade explained. "Moreover, most of the have already gone back. There's only one of them who remained. He'll be your sole client this time."

"So he's like some old man, who took his time and was left behind?" Konohamaru asked.

"Not quite" Tsunade shook her head. "In fact, I think I heard him just now" there was a knock on the door, accompanied by something like whining.

"Come in" the door opened. "Ah, there he is."

The four chuunins turned around only to see Shizune, a weak smile on her face, and Sakura, looking a hair breadth from strangling someone.

"Tsunade-sama, we've got him" Shizune said, revealing someone who could only be described as a 12-year old noble boy, dressed with expensive, but crumpled and worn-out clothes.

"Ah, thank you very much. What took you so long?" the Hokage asked.

"Um... we met Nara Shikamaru near the academy and talked about the report on the other mission and the boy used this chance to escape and..."

"...caused a ruckus in several classes" Sakura finished for her.

"Oh well, thank you very much" Tsunade said. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama" both women exclaimed and then quickly left the room.

"Hey, wait, old hags!" the boy said. "What about the ice cream?"

All members of the team Ebisu continued to look at him strangely. Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Ok, guys. This is Jama Izakoza of the Jama family. Izakoza-kun, these shinobi here will escort you to your home."

The boy called Izakoza turned around "I don't wanna go home!" he practically shouted with a high-pitched voice, making Hanabi, Moegi and Udon wince this time. "I wanna have some fun! Who're you to make me do this, old h-" he paused for a moment. "You look like hot chick, but I heard you're actually an old crone. So which is it?"

Tsunade's brow started to twitch, but before she could say anything, Konohamaru stepped forward.

"Who do you think you're talking to, huh?" he asked, his voice loud as well. "Show some respect to the leader of the largest shinobi village or I'll teach you some manners."

'You were the one who called the Hokage like that, you know?' Udon and Moegi thought at the same time.

Hanabi, on the other hand, could only nod in agreement with Konohamaru, her fists clenching involuntarily.

"Shut up, you idiot!" the boy talked back.

It was Konohamaru's brow that twitched this time.

"What did you say?" he asked with an angry expression.

"Hey, hey" Udon interjected with a small smile, his hands raised. "Let's take it easy." he got closer to the boy. "How about we get you those ice cream?"

"Shut up!" the boy said, stepping on Udon's feet. "You snotty little brat!"

"Little?" Udon breathed out, while holding his feet.

"Um... Tsunade-sama" Konohamaru said quietly when he got close enough to the Hokage. The look on his face distorted between happy and terrified similar to how Ebisu looked sometimes.

"What's a matter Konohamaru? You can't handle a little unruly brat? Now you see what I have to deal with."

"That's not what I meant" Konohamaru answered, observing as Izakoza pesters Udon, Hanabi and Moegi backing up a little. "I mean, where is this boy's home?"

"Land of Rivers, close to the border with the Land of Fire actually. Why?"

"Why is he alone?"

"As I said, he was kind of left behind by some of his relatives, and I can't say I blame them" Tsunade answered, also observing Udon vain efforts to handle the boy. "But he has quite a number of stuff with him, so you'll have to travel by a cart. Expensive stuff I might add."

"Well, I can understand some thieves or bandits, but what if some renegade ninja attack? He's got some valuables and he might be used as a hostage."

"Hoo? Our little Konohamaru showing sings of responsibility?" Tsunade teased him briefly.

Konohamaru looked a little embarrassed. "It's-That's not-"

"Don't get it the wrong way" Tsunade looked at him, her eyes holding a dangerous glint. "His family paid for the trip and for the escort, but since they are meager they only paid for a C-rank mission, so we're not obligated to help him defend against any ninja attacks."

"So if the enemy ninjas attack and he is killed..."

"Don't worry, in such a case me and the Fire Daimyou will be on your side. But you HAVE to guard him against normal threats, is that clear?" she paused for a moment. "And I hope you're not thinking about killing the poor boy yourself, right?"

"Oh no, what made you think that?" Konohamaru replied, making a strangling motion with his hands.

"And one more thing. This task might be a little taxing, so I thought I will give you a few days off after this one. Consider this a little vacation."

"Uh-huh"

"All's clear then! Good luck to you all" Tsunade replied with a bright smile on her face. "You'll need it!"

(* * *)

"Let's stop, I'm hungry."

"You have just eaten."

"But I'm hungry!" Izakoza continued to whine.

The orange-haired grown woman sitting next to him only huffed in annoyance.

There was a second of silence. Two... three...

"Transform into something else!" the boy ordered.

He was answered by a guttural growl.

"Hey! I'm your client, you have to listen to me. I command you!"

"Ugh, Moegi's not gonna be happy for the rest of the day" Udon remarked from his place at the end of the cart.

Izakoza's things had been loaded into a cart and then put under genjutsu to look like poor quality vegetables and fruits to avoid any unpleasant encounters. It took them some time, because the boy did all he could to disrupt them. Including violence. Moreover, all four of them had used the transformation technique to change themselves into more adult-like forms as a cart with four teens and one kid would be obviously suspicious.

"And I don't blame her" Hanabi answered. She was looking like a young woman, no more that twenty years old and had short dark hair. Her transformation looked a little off, but the girl hadn't got much experience with such kind of jutsu, so it was to be expected.

Udon himself looked like a tall and lanky fellow with a stubble. When he faced forward he could see a figure of a large man, over six feet tall, bald and muscular, walking a dozen or so meters ahead of them. It wasKonohamaru, who had offered to play a role of a fore-guard, only to escape the desire to kick Izakoza's noble ass.

"It's strange though" Udon started after a moment of them watching Moegi snap at the kid.

"What is?" Hanabi asked.

"You know what Konohamaru's like, right?" he asked. "He's bossy, loud and obnoxious" Hanabi just nodded her head. "And he used to be much worse. Really like a miniature Naruto."

"What's wrong with that?" the Hyuuga girl questioned. "Naruto is a fine shinobi."

"You say that only because you haven't known him when he was twelve" Udon remarked. "But nevermind, that's not what I'm getting at."

"What do you mean then?"

"This boy's behavior reminds me of... well... Konohamaru. And yet Konohamaru seems to be the most irritated of us all... I kind of... expected them to get along. You know, making a prank every ten seconds."

"No..." Hanabi answered. "Konohamaru had some reason. He sought attention, the proof of his own name."

"How'd you know that?" Udon turned to face her, the surprised look on his transformed face was really weird.

"He told me himself" Hanabi answered, feeling strange when Udon continued to stare at her. "Anyways. I think that boy is not similar to Konohamaru. He's more similar to..."

Hanabi paused and then her brows furrowed. Udon resumed his previous position, hoping the Hyuuga girl won't continue the topic.

How naïve of him...

"Udon-san" the use of honorific after his name already gave him a bad feeling.

"Yes?"

"You don't like trouble and you often lie about your opinions, just to keep things safe, right?"

Udon blinked at that. Did he suck so much that it was obvious even to Hanabi... or was the girl getting better at understanding such things.

"Don't look at me like that" she brought him out of his musings. "Pretense and deception are common tool for shinobi, clans and politicians. I'm somewhat used to this."

"Apparently..."

"Let me finish" she continued. "You're getting out of your way to keep things under control, but I think that you're the smartest and good at observing people. So I guess you're the most perceptive and objective of all of us."

"Why are we talking about this?" he asked, more and more confused.

"Be honest with me. The way I was acting before... Was... was I like this little brat?"

"Um..." Udon was struggling with words. "That is..."

"I see..." Hanabi said, her face calm. "Thank you."

"Um... don't mention it..." Udon replied.

Just then a shout was heard.

"Udon!"

The boy in question turned his attention to the orange-haired woman.

"Yes, Moegi?"

"You're next for babysitting."

Udon groaned. All of them did, Hanabi recalled. But if even he did that, than this trip promised to be long and tiresome.

(* * *)

"I swear! I'm going to kill this little brat" Konohamaru spoke, watching at Moegi and Udon's efforts to convince the boy to go to sleep.

It was already a few hours into the evening and all chuunins returned to their original forms. The camp was already set, including two tents, one for boys and one for girls.

"That's strange" Hanabi said, studying him curiously. "You were staying away from him the whole time and you're this angry."

"Yeah" Konohamaru replied. "He just pisses me off this much. Gosh! I hate people who act high and mighty, but can't do a damn thing!"

"I was also like that you know..."

"What?" Konohamaru asked surprised.

"I also used to act like he does" she explained.

"Don't be stupid!" Konohamaru said back, his voice with a tint of... offence? "You had a lot of skill and were a shinobi on duty!" he pointed to Izakoza. "He's just small, little, young useless, snotty and stupid brat. Totally different."

"You don't have to put it like that" Hanabi said. "...but thanks."

"N-no problem" Konohamaru replied, turning his head a little, so she wouldn't see his flushed face.

They returned to looking at their teammates.

"Ugh" Konohamaru spoke after a moment. "This mission is totally not worth it... what was I thinking?" he questioned himself. "If there was a way to shut him up for a bit, but what can we do about such noble brat?"

"Hm..." Hanabi thought for a moment. "I think I may have an idea..."

At this he turned to her only to see her stand up and face him.

"What do you mea-" he started to ask.

"Taichou" she interrupted him. "I request the permission to deal with the boy" she asked.

Konohamaru opened his mouth and closed it a few times.

"Uh... sure?" he managed after a moment.

"Very well" Hanabi answered and then activated her Byakugan, then she marched towards the boy, grabbed him and proceed to drag him into one of the tents.

"Hey!" the boy shouted immediately. "What the hell are you doing crazy woman! Let me go!"

"Eerm... what are you doing?" Moegi questioned.

"With captain's permission I'm putting him in his proper place" she answered and then disappeared inside the tent.

Moegi made a move to follow after her, but she was stopped when Udon put his hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" he told her. "Let her do it by herself."

(* * *)

Inside the tent Hanabi shoved Izakoza so he was seated on the ground.

"Hands off!" the boy shouted, now clearly furious. "Touch me one more time and I'll have my dad cu-"

He stopped abruptly when Hanabi grabbed his arm roughly. Only now he could see her face and her changed eyes. As a civilian Izakoza couldn't sense chakra, but he could still feel goose bumps when Hanabi released chakra from her entire body, especially through her right hand, which she used to hold him.

"Hey, it hurts!" he whined, a little sign of fear in his voice.

"Of course it does" Hanabi spoke. "We are ninja, we are trained to hurt and we're paid to escort you, not babysit."

"I'm not a baby!" he retorted. "My fathe-"

"Your father, huh?" she repeated. "Well what about MY father? You think you're the only one who is a noble?" she questioned him. "Are you a son of a clan head and heir to the prominent shinobi clan? Are you? Because I think you and your father are less important parts of your family."

Well, saying she was the heiress and her clan was prominent was somewhat far-fetched, but it was the final result that mattered at the moment. Thus, she decided to say one more thing.

"See those eyes?" she asked and before he could say anything she explained. "They allow me to see pretty much everything. I can see things that are far away and those protected by walls. Now, I don't ask you to be an angel, but if you cause us more trouble, I'll talk with you again. And with those eyes I will know if you behave. Is that clear?"

The boy looked at her and then nodded a few times vigorously.

"Good."

(* * *)

"You know, that helped us and all" Konohamaru said, when all four of them sat around the remnants of a small fire before going to sleep. "But I think it was a mistake."

Udon chuckled. "That's funny coming from you, Kono."

"Oh, c'mon, I wouldn't go to my family and whine, but he can! I'm serious Hanabi!" Konohamaru turned to the girl who still had her eyes activated to check on Izakoza.

Ah... it was sure good to use her eyes again.

"You exaggerate" she told him simply.

"No, I'm not. I am the captain and I should take responsibility! But you went ahead and now you can have trouble and-"

"If any of you three did it, then yes, you could have problems" Hanabi interrupted him. "I didn't want to use my family position, but he asked for it. And about him telling his folks about it... let him tell. I'd gladly see his family go to the Hyuuga compound and complain to my father. That would surely make my day."

Konohamaru still looked unconvinced.

"Look, it was my duty to help and I was the best suited for the task. That's all."

"Hmpf!" Konohamaru said, folding his arms on his chest. "Whatever, just remember, if you get into trouble, I warned you."

"I for one am glad we have him off our backs" Moegi decided to comment as well. "Thanks Hanabi."

"No problem" Hanabi responded, feeling a little awkward hearing things like this from Moegi. "But I'm afraid it won't work for long. The brat is rebellious for sure."

"What do we do then?" Udon asked. "Being nice doesn't work and we can't just tie and gag him and then throw him onto the cart.

"That's it!" Konohamaru said, his face showing the signs of what Moegi and Udon immediately recognized as his pranking side. "Good idea. Let's do-AW!" he was stopped when Moegi hit him on the head.

"Don't be stupid! That could definitely get us all into trouble!"

"You hit me!"

"You're more whiny than usual."

"I'm the captain and you still hit me!" Konohamaru repeated, while rubbing his head. "I can't believe it!"

"You know" Hanabi spoke again, getting their attention. "With my Juuken I should be able to render him unconscious for a day. It shouldn't be dangerous to him."

"Shouldn't?" Udon repeated, sounding more than a little worried.

"Yeah, cousin Neji was able to do it."

"That's nice idea and don't get me wrong" Konohamaru spoke. "But are you sure your skills are on par with that of your cousin?"

"Umm... well..."

"Then forget about it" Konohamaru concluded.

"Maybe we should go to sleep already?" Udon suggested.

"Right" Konohamaru agreed. "I think it's safe to assume that our 'client' over there will need his beauty sleep, so I suggest that me, Moegi and Udon keep watch in turns, for 3 hours each."

"I can keep watch" Hanabi blurted out, not sure why.

"Nah..." Konohamaru waved his hand. "You did already enough for today, it's time for us to do some work. I'll go as the first one if you don't mind. Then I think it's time to say good night."

(* * *)

The night and morning went without surprise. After all, the fact that Izakoza was drowsy, grumpy, loud and less than happy with his sleeping arrangements after waking up was no surprise to them at all.

Still, the boy was relatively well-behaved compared to yesterday, proving that Hanabi's tactic worked to an extent. At least it seemed so for the first few hours, but then rain started to pour down from the skies. The four ninja regarded it as unwelcome, but slight inconvenience. But the boy started to whine again, once more forcing Konohamaru to travel in front of their cart.

Izakoza however did seem a little scared of Hanabi, so she was the one to spend the most time sitting next to him, right behind the horses.

"I'm cold!" the boy whined.

"Quiet!" Hanabi hissed. She had to hand it to him. He managed to break even her calm demeanor. Well... usually calm.

"But I'm cold! I hate rain!"

"I said quiet!" she repeated. "It's not that cold and you have this blanket, stop complaining."

"But-"

"Or else" she activated her Byakugan briefly, observing with satisfaction when he looked away.

Behind them Moegi smirked.

"You know, I take back what I said" she whispered so only Udon could hear her. "She's pretty useful at times."

"I hear you" Udon nodded. "I wonder though... You and her seem like good pals now."

"What do you mean?" the orange-haired girl asked.

"You know exactly what I mean" Udon replied, his voice quick and with a hint of accusation? "You were practically at each other's throats and now there's seemingly a cease-fire for some reason."

"W-we just had a sincere talk and resolved our... misunderstanding" she answered slowly. "What's it up to you?"

"Me?" Udon said, a little too fast. "Nothing, really. Just happy the teamwork is better. That's all."

Moegi stared at him for a moment, but then shook her head and continued to look at Hanabi, who seemed successful at calming down the boy. For now at least.

They have stopped twice for a meal consisting of shinobi rations or, how Izakoza called them, rabbit food. He refused, quite loudly, to eat the first time, but when his stomach started to growl, he started to eat during the next meal, but didn't spare them his complaints.

The rain lessened into a drizzle, but the ground still turned into a mud. Rivulets of murky water were getting bigger and merged into small puddles. Izakoza now was mostly quiet, concentrating on keeping the mud from getting onto his clothes, mumbling under his nose instead. The horses moved much slower now, sometimes literally wading in mud.

For the entire day they have met few travellers along their way and those few were grumpy and also hindered by the rain, so each time they passed each other silently. They have been travelling through some forest and the sun was already low on the horizon, when Konohamaru noticed another group of travellers going their way.

He hoped they were just another group of merchants, but he quickly dismissed this thought when they got closer.

They looked like a group of mercenaries travelling on foot, armed with some blades. Or maybe they were ninjas? They could be transformed as him for all he knew. Konohamaru slowed down, in order to shorten the distance between him and his team.

"I don't really think that's a good idea" Moegi said to Udon. "Personally, I think we should-" she stopped when looking forward and her face hardened. Udon followed her gaze and tensed himself when he saw the newcomers.

Hanabi saw them too.

They were still in their transformed forms and Konohamaru was looking scary enough. The three of them on the cart would probably be fine too. But Izakoza? Would he be fine?

The newcomers approached them quickly. There were four men and they all looked quite similar to how Konohamaru looked at the present. This meant, Hanabi thought, they might consider them an easy prey if push come to shove.

The men went past Konohamaru, both parties welcoming the other with a glare. Then they turned their attention to the cart and people riding it. Moegi sent them a glare full of disgust. Udon struggled to keep himself from smiling nervously. And Hanabi plainly ignored them like they weren't worth her attention in the slightest.

Their gaze focused on both women in the group. Truth be told, they didn't look particularly pretty in their transformed forms, but the men seemed interested nonetheless. Two men already passed the group without saying a word. Konohamaru sighed in relief.

And then the last of them noticed Izakoza looking at him.

"Whatcha looking at ya stupid brat!"

The four shinobi cringed at once, praying for the boy to remain quiet.

In vain.

"I'm not stupid brat, you old brainless blockhead" the boy shouted and then grabbed the first thing he found on the cart behind him and threw it at the men, the tomato splattering on the man's face. "You think you can talk to me like that? My dad will-"

But nobody listened to him anymore.

"You piece of shit!" the man shouted, his comrades stopping and turning as well. Konohamaru noticed that the man's hand quickly shot in the direction of his sword.

"Watch out!"

But the man has already seized his weapon and with a fast, but skilled motion, surprising for his build, slashed at the boy. The boy however was already gone when Hanabi lunged forward and grabbed him, dropping to the ground and tumbling in the mud.

The man turned quickly and raised his sword in both hands, ready to bring it down, but then he shrank and leaned over when Konohamaru slugged him in the stomach.

"You little shit!" the one of the remaining three shouted, but Moegi and Udon were already next to them.

First lost his balance when Moegi knocked him over with a leg sweep. His had barely the time to register what happened, when the orange-haired girl swinged his arm, slashing at his face with a kunai.

"ARGH!" he screamed, his hands grabbed his face when he started to roll in the mud.

The second was grasped by Udon. The enemy tried to kick him, but it was blocked. Then, before he could attack for a second time, his eyes widened, the thin-looking Udon raised him above and tossed like a rag doll.

"You'll pay for that!" the last one shouted, but was knocked to the ground by the entire original Konohamaru Corps.

The one thrown by Udon quickly rose to his feet and was about to attack them when he heard a fizzling sound and looked around, but, no matter how much he bent or turned, he couldn't see a paper tag sticking and burning on his back.

"What the-"

KABOOM!

The explosion was relatively small, but the man was still propelled forward and dug into the ground, unconscious like his comrades.

"Whew..." Udon sighed. "That was close."

Hanabi stood up after she made sure that the boy was safe. "Why was the explosion so weak?"

"This was my custom-made explosive tag" Udon answered. "Meant to impair, not to kill."

Hanabi only nodded her head. The creativity of her team never ceased to amaze her. They don't need to know it though.

"Well at least we had some action" Moegi said, swinging her arms. "I was getting really bored.

"Yeah" Hanabi agreed and then noticed that she was covered with mud from head to toes. "Ugh! I am dirty!"

"Who cares about you! I'm the one dirty" Izakoza shouted at her, making her blink and then narrowed her eyes.

"I just-"

WHACK!

Hanabi blinked again when Konohamaru smacked the boy over his head and it wasn't lightly either.

"OW!" the boy shrieked. "That hurt you asshole! I-" but then Konohamaru grabbed him by his shirt and raised, still in his transformed form.

"No!" he spoke. "You listen to me. She just saved you miserable life and this is how you thank her?"

"Konohamaru-kun!" Moegi said gently, when she saw tears welling up in Izakoza's eyes. "You don't need to-"

"No" he replied. "I had enough of this little punk and his bullshit. We are responsible for his safety and safety only and he needs to be taught a lesson." he stated. "From now on you talk only when spoken to and you eat and sleep when told so. Got it?"

The boy looked at him and then burst into tears.

(* * *)

They had gathered all of the mercenaries and then Udon managed to cast a genjutsu on them.

"With some luck they will believe they got into a fight among themselves and in the very least they will forget they fought with us" he said.

They resumed their journey with Konohamaru glancing at Izakoza from time to time, only to see the boy trying to hide behind Udon who was now the one sitting next to him.

Soon however, they stopped and made a camp.

"Hm..." Moegi mused when she looked inside their cart. "We're running out of wood. We should go get some."

"Ok" Udon answered. "I guess I will go then" but he was almost immediately stopped by Hanabi.

"No, I'll go."

Moegi and Konohamaru both turned at her, raising their eyebrows.

"It's fine" Udon replied, seemingly confused by the offer. "I can get it."

"I know, but it's alright, really. Besides with my Byakugan I am the least likely to get lost or ambushed" she said and then went towards the denser parts of the forest. "I'll be back in no time."

And then she was gone.

"What's up with her?" Konohamaru asked Moegi.

"Don't ask me."

They have made a campfire and started to eat (with Konohamaru glaring at Izakoza the moment he opened his mouth to object). Minutes have passed in silence broken only occasionally by one of them.

"Where is she?" Konohamaru said after a while.

"You mean Hanabi?" Udon asked, while watching Izakoza pestering Moegi, trying to get her to feed him.

"Of course I mean her!" Konohamaru replied. "How long could it take to gather some wood?"

"I don't know" Udon answered. "Maybe she's hunting for something different to eat? With her eyes it's possible" he paused and regarded his best friend's face for a moment. "You don't think something happened to her?"

"I don't think so" Konohamaru replied, though Udon knew he wasn't completely honest with him. Heck, he probably wasn't honest with himself. "But I'm the leader on this mission, so I will go check it out" he stood up. "I will leave some clones with you, just in case."

"Maybe you should just send clones to look for her."

"Maybe I will, but I will go personally as well, clones are weak after all."

And with that he was gone. Udon shook his head and then sighed when he spotted Moegi looking at him questioningly.

(* * *)

Konohamaru was walking through the forest, following the traces left, thank Kami, by Hanabi. He considered calling for her, but if she was in trouble this could compromise his location and he would become an easy target. Moreover, it was already dark and if it wasnt for the full moon, thank Kami again, he wouldn't be able to see pretty much anything.

He was getting really worried now when he heard a noise, something between a buzz and a hum. With no better idea, he followed the strange sound and soon he could see a formation of rocks nearby. He got closer and the sound grew louder and clearer.

It sounded almost like a... he then saw a glint in the corner of his vision and reacted immediately, only to see... a small stream with water flowing lively, the moon making it glitter brightly.

He sighed in relief and then moved forward. He turned around, remembering his location and the way back, fortunately, he was still able to see a weak glow of their campfire. That's good. Getting lost and then being teased about it by Hanabi was the last thing he needed. He just hoped she didn't get into any troub-

He tripped and almost lost his balance. His cursed quietly and then turned, looking for the stupid roots responsible for this. But there were none.

Instead, there was a stack of wood, scattered apart when he tripped.

"What the?" he asked. He stood up and looked around as if expecting Hanabi to appear at any moment and scold him for his clumsiness.

"Hanabi?" he asked a little louder and moved forward past the rocks and... almost tripped again. He looked down and saw... a shinobi sandal.

He looked a little up and saw a pile of clothes, muddy as the sandal itself. And then he heard a new sound.

A hum.

Before he could connect all the dots, the sound of rushing water, the stream, the wood, the clothes and the hum, he raised his head.

And become petrified.

The stream he saw was flowing out from a small cove that was supplied with water by a small waterfall, its sound now loud and clear, but still not loud enough to muffle the sound of Hanabi, humming while she washed out the last traces of the mud from her body.

Her very naked body.

Hanabi swung her hair out of her face, and for a second, which seemed to span for an eternity, Konohamaru watched as the hair flew around her, darkened by water.

And then she turned.

**(* * *)**

**And here you have it!**

**I hope that any not-enough-KonoHana-moments readers are satisfied with the turn of events for now ;]**

**As for the future, we are definitely getting into more-romance-less-adventure part. Just be patient...**

**Okay, that's all for now. See you next time!**


	17. Parting with trouble

**Hello everyone!**

**Here I am with the newest chapter for you... at last...**

**I'm sorry that it took so much time, but I had trouble putting this chapter together... what's more, it didn't turn out as I wanted it to... so don't be surprised when it's a little... off and not quite as you had been expecting it.**

**For those of you who are growing impatient with more-adventure-less-romance policy, I am happy to announce that were are getting to the more romance-oriented chapters. This chapter in particular puts more emphasis on the woman-man relations, even though the general romance is still lacking... but I promise... this arc is the last one aimed primarily at adventure.**

**One more thing: I've been getting a lot of reviews asking for quick updates. Two comments on this matter. First, I would really like to receive more detailed reviews whenever possible, so don't be shy. And second, the current schedule is one chapter per three weeks (and I mean it quite literally), so don't expect more frequent updates (yes, I know – this sucks). Moreover, it is quite possible that the update frequency will drop to once a month. I don't want for it to happen, but I'm not a miracle-worker. To sum it up: don't panic when three weeks have passed since the last update and just give me one more week.**

**Of course, you're still free to drop me a review whenever you want. I'd like that very much.**

**I think this is enough words for author's notes. I just hope you will like this chapter, because I am very reluctant to publish it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Lately, I had trouble owning my own plot details... :/**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

Moegi emerged out of Izakoza's tent and sighed, drawing Udon's attention.

"So?" he asked. "How'd it go?"

"Fiiine. The little devil is asleep finally" the orange-haired girl answered. "At least I hope so..." she added after she took a seat close to the fire.

"Don't worry" Udon told her. "One more day and we'll get rid of him. Just one day."

"Yeah... assuming we don't get into anymore problems."

Udon offered her no answers. He was particularly glum tonight. Not that she was any different.

"You think he's still pissed?" she half-whispered to him.

Udon glanced at her, then blinked and then turned his head around, looking at his best male friend who was sitting by himself on one of the branches, high above the ground.

"Yeah" he admitted after a moment, his voice barely above a whisper.

The both of them, like on command, turned to gaze at Hanabi who was sitting on the other side of the fire, quiet and unmoving, her gaze fixed on the flames, their blaze reflecting in her eyes.

Moegi sighed again. Udon and Hanabi might just be quiet, but she was starting to get more and more confused. And worried.

How did it end this way again?

(* * *)

The moment he saw her turn, Konohamaru quickly hid behind the rocks.

What was he thinking? Wait... scratch that! What was SHE thinking?

Did she notice him? He waited for a moment, not moving one inch, not even breathing, the only process occurring in him was one thought bouncing inside his head.

She has the Byakugan!

Just when he started to think that maybe she didn't saw anything he heard her speak.

"W-who's there?"

His eyes widened. Her voice sounded less sharp than normal... meek even? Konohamaru couldn't imagine Hanabi shrieking in a girly way while blushing madly... but this voice was certainly not like her normal self either.

When he thought that he was already running through the forest, not really sure where he was going. He just needed to get away from here. And quick.

Going back to previous issue... what was she thinking, bathing in the evening in a middle of a forest alone? Well, it made sense that she wanted to do it after she was covered in mud trying to protect that little brat. But why didn't she tell them anything?

His mind was rushing with scenarios.

Knowing that she chose to go alone and in secrecy probably meant that Hanabi had some decency after all. It shouldn't be such a surprise, really. She was practically a noble, so it was normal to be careful about things like that... The girl probably had perfect knowledge about a set of manners he hasn't even heard about. It's just... for some reason Konohamaru was expecting her not to pay much attention to human relations, nudity and so on.

Perhaps she was not that antisocial after all. Well, this entire thing sucked big tim-

WHACK!

Without any warning he felt something hit his back and he fell face-first onto the forest floor.

"Ow!" he whined and with some effort turned around, fully expecting to see Hanabi, her Byakugan activated, face red with fury and brows furrowed, indicating that she has been thinking about a proper punishment and still wasn't done.

When he turned around, he saw Hanabi alright. But something was off.

She was panting, whizzing with each breath. Her clothes, Konohamaru used all his control not to look, were wet, she clearly pulled them on in a hurry, her hair was still drenched and clung to her face. And she had a kunai in her hand, suspended and unmoving in half a way between her ninja poach and his throat.

But the most surprising thing was her face. Her eyes were wide, her pale, lilac irises clearly visible despite the dark. If it weren't for the current situation he could've become easily entranced by them, but his mind was reeling.

Why was Hanabi surprised? Why didn't she activate her Byakugan? And the thing on her cheeks. Was it...

Was it... a flush?

Clank.

He gazed down and saw that the kunai fell out of her small hand, her delicate, yet deadly hand. He was briefly reminded as not so long ago the same hand was almost intertwined with his own. A split second later he realized why she dropped the kunai.

Her hand was shaking.

Shaking and slowly raising. He followed her hand with his gaze and soon was face to face with her again.

If he was previously surprised to see her flushed face, thannow he was simply out of words when he saw her blush a deep shade of crimson. He wondered for a brief moment what a wonder that was.

Hanabi. Blushing.

Then her hand stopped its trip up and he realized two more things.

First: Udon will soon be the only one on the team who was neither slapped nor slapped anyone.

And two, and that was really the more surprising part: Hanabi really did shriek in a girly way.

(* * *)

"So, how was it?"

Konohamaru blinked and then turned, facing Udon, who has asked the question.

They were sitting back in their camp, alone after Moegi has taken Hanabi into the girl's tent.

"How was what?" Konohamaru countered, genuinely confused.

"Don't play dumb" Udon reprimanded him, a small smile gracing his lips. "Granted, I wouldn't try anything so risky with a girl I like, but no pain no gain, I guess... So?" he prodded on.

Konohamaru remained speechless for a few seconds. Udon decided that this didn't bode well.

"Wha...?" his best friend uttered finally. "You think I was stalking her on purpose?"

"Ugh" Udon already regretted mentioning this. To make matter worse he was not so good at keeping quiet under pressure. "Don't you often... ermm... do this?"

"You want to tell me" Konohamaru raised his voice, making Udon wince. "That I knew she was there and I would risk peeking on moody, noble, antisocial bad-ass girl like her?"

"Alright, alright" Udon raised his hands in defence, particularly worried that Konohamaru didn't seem to care whether the girls heard him or not. "I believe you" he really was.

More or less.

"So... even if it was an accident" Udon pressed on after a moment. "That must have been worth it, right?"

Konohamaru looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Worth it?" he responded, this time with much lower, but more guttural voice, a bad sign Udon concluded. "I didn't get to see anything and I probably blew all my chances with her. But everything's fine dude."

(* * *)

Inside the tent Hanabi was just finishing putting on some fresh clothes. And she seemed to try to do it as quick as she could. Moegi chuckled at her. It was quite funny to see Hanabi without her guard up like that.

"No need for such a hurry" she comforted the Hyuuga girl. "They're not going to get in here, you know..."

"Hmpf!" Hanabi responded quite rudely, making Moegi smile a bit more and shake her head.

This was so much like Konohamaru. If Moegi was honest with herself she didn't see a reason why the Sarutobi boy would not do it. Apparently, the perverseness was strong with this one and, as far as Moegi didn't want to admit it, Hanabi was quite pretty. Not innocent-but-well-endowed kind of beauty like her older sister, nor seductive-and-shapely-curved like Yamanaka Ino, but she was still pretty. Moegi was certain that Hanabi would have a line of suitors even without being a Hyuuga if it weren't for her attitude. And for her father... Hell, the young Hyuuga probably had her own fan club she wasn't even aware of.

Long story short, she wasn't surprised that Konohamaru did that and was only slightly worried. Even if the boy liked the Hyuuga, she truly wasn't interested, further indicated by Konohamaru's bruised face when they finally emerged from the woods, both quiet and keeping distance from each other.

"I-I don't understand why he did that" Hanabi said after a moment, seemingly because the silence was too embarrassing. So she was learning how to act like girl, huh?

"Don't worry about that" Moegi waved her hand. "Konohamaru is just like that. I'm actually surprised you survived that long without experiencing his perverted issues."

"What?" Hanabi exclaimed, somewhere between aghast and disgusted.

"Yeah, he's probably always been like that..." Moegi mused. "Especially after he meet Naruto..."

Hanabi's eyes widened, this time in complete denial and disbelief. Naruto-san a pervert? This kinda reminded her of the time when she was tied to that cursed stake during the bell test, she shuddered briefly. There was indeed some talk about perverts.

"What are they doing out there?" Moegi said. Hanabi realized she was referring to the ruckus outside that was rising in volume. "They're going to wake up that damn brat."

Hanabi followed the orange-haired girl outside, only to see a rather one-sided words exchange between Konohamaru and Udon.

"What are you doing?" Moegi asked.

"Uh... talking?" Udon answered, exploiting the fact that Konohamaru shut up for a moment when he saw Hanabi.

"About what?" Moegi asked and then realized how stupid that question was. "Of course" she said to no-one in particular and then faced Konohamaru. "It's nothing really. That's not the first time it happened and most likely not last either."

Moegi had her eyes closed, so she couldn't see the frantic signals Udon was giving her, trying to make her stop.

Hanabi furrowed her brows when she noticed Konohamaru's face growing less and less friendly.

"You really should work on your control Konohamaru-kun, instead of finding stupid excuses just to peep on your teammat-"

"Is that what you think?" Moegi opened her eyes at his voice which was so unlike Konohamaru. "You think I have done it deliberately, huh? Is that what you're trying to say?"

Hanabi heard a shifting noises from Izakoza's tent, but she paid it no heed, completely focused on the bad vibe that Konohamaru was giving off, looking at Moegi in a way that was almost menacing. Hanabi has never seen him like that. Suddenly it hit her that he was their leader at this mission.

"I-" Moegi started, seemingly out of words.

"Fine" Konohamaru said, turning away from Moegi. "I'm beginning to think that you were right" he said in the direction of Hanabi, making her blink. "Maybe it would be better just being on your own, huh?" he finisjed and then turned around, walking away.

"Konohamaru!" Udon called after him, but it was too late – Konohamaru was already high in the tree.

(* * *)

Moegi was brought out of her memories by Udon's voice.

"It's late already. We should go to sleep."

"What about Konohamaru?"

Udon sighed.

"He's not going. He said he was going to stand guard."

"All night?"

"All night."

Moegi snorted at that.

"Yeah, right. He will fall asleep in the middle of the night" she explained. "We'll have our own watch. I'll be first."

"Okay" Udon replied and then turned to leave. "Hanabi-san?"

"Huh?"

"Are you going?"

"Yeah..." Hanabi answered, yet she lingered a few more seconds, her gaze shifting between Moegi preparing for guard duty and Konohamaru sitting high above the ground, her face unreadable.

And then she turned back and went inside her tent.

(* * *)

Throughout the night they have stood guard, Moegi first, then replaced by Hanabi and with Udon as the last one. The entire time Konohamaru seemed to sulk on his branch, brooding.

The dawn came at last, but Konohamaru's strange behaviour weighted on all three of them, to such an extent that even Izakoza's morning whining seemed distant. The boy quickly noticed that he was being largely ignored and mistakenly concluded that he was off the hook and free to do as he pleased.

He was quickly reminded of his place when he tried to order Moegi around. And Moegi seemed particularly on edge today.

And thus they have resumed their trip with all five of them in a bad mood. Udon and Moegi were travelling ahead of their cart, likely to escape the oh-so-nice company of Izakoza. Hanabi was once again designated to sit next to the pesky boy, due to her calmness, resistance and patience, which was wearing thin.

Konohamaru, on the other hand, seemed to stay some distance behind the cart, possibly so no-one could see him without turning around and when they did, they received a resentful glare at best.

Except for Hanabi who wasn't looking back, deep in her own thoughts, only using her Byakugan from time to time to check their surroundings for any problems or enemies.

But there were none.

And so a few hours have passed with pretty much no words exchanged between the members of team Konohamaru. This condition did not apply to Izakoza, who was talking, whining and fidgeting constantly. Hanabi ignored his actions for the most part, possibly thanks to her experience with ignoring people (the Hyuuga elders and her sister included) or because of her gloomy thoughts.

But even her patience had a limit.

"I'm sooo bored!" Izakoza whined for the umpteenth time in the last hour.

"Quiet!" she hissed, not caring if she was being rude. So what?! If the boy thought he could treat her like someone below him then he had another thing coming.

"But I'm bored" he repeated like it was some great truth she failed to understand. Hanabi started to wonder if he would be this bored when he was being strangled to death.

"Oi, neesan" he said turning to Hanabi. "Play with me."

"Are you out of your mind? And I'm NOT your oneesan!"

"Please..." such whiny noises should be forbidden under the penalty of lashing, she thought.

"No."

"Pretty please? With sugar on top?"

Hanabi groaned.

"Moegi!"

The said girl turned back, briefly focusing on Konohamaru and then slowed down.

"Yes?" she asked when she was close enough.

"Trade places with me..."

Moegi blinked. Hanabi was not ordering her. She was asking. No, she was pleading...

It was Moegi's turn to groan.

"Alright" she answered. "But only for a short while."

"Thanks..." Hanabi responded and got off the cart. "I'll make it up to you. You can take my share of the mission reward. I don't care."

"If you say so..."

"No!" Izakoza cried out. "I'm sorry, I won't be troubling you anymore, just stay!"

Moegi and Hanabi both looked at the boy and then at each other, clearly surprised. Even Udon turned around and exchanged confused look with as equally perturbed Moegi.

"Come on!" Moegi said, close to pleading herself, the promise of getting double mission reward tempting. "How about I'll play with you?"

"No!" Izakoza turned away from her, offended. "I want to play with oneesan."

Moegi and Udon both glanced at Hanabi who just shrugged.

"I told you I'm not your oneesan."

Moegi stayed still for a moment. A strange thought occurred to her and she narrowed her eyes.

"Izakoza-kun" she said sweetly, getting the boy's attention. "Tell me, why it has to be the oneesan" Hanabi shot her a glare, but Moegi only winked at her.

The boy looked at her as if she was an idiot.

"I like the oneesan more."

"Why?"

Izakoza smiled dreamily.

"Because oneesan is so pretty."

Udon turned again just in time to see Moegi's annoyed face. She was right after all.

Hanabi didn't look thrilled either. For a few moments she was quiet and then she snorted.

"Well, too bad for you" Hanabi said and moved, intending to get away. "You have to play with Moegi-neesan."

"No! I want to play with you" Izakoza said smiling. "Let's have some fun, oneesan..."

Even though Moegi was right she could've never predicted what came next. So imagine her surprise when the unruly brat raised his hand and then playfully spanked Hanabi's ass.

Moegi's cheeks immediately flushed with color, strangely contrasting with her aghast expression. Udon's face, on the other hand, instantly drenched of all color, pale as death which he sensed was coming. Hanabi herself uttered a comical "eek!" and then she turned around in place, her hand already raised, with all intension to cut the boy's chakra flow to some of his more precious organs and-

THUD!

"OOW!"

Hanabi blinked and stopped abruptly, comprehending the scene before her with difficulty. Because right now, Izakoza was sprawled on the cart, nursing a rather large bump on his head.

"WHAT THE HELL!" he shouted through watery eyes. "That HURT you bastard. I'll make you pa-" he was cut off when a hand grabbed him by his clothes and effortlessly lifted him in the air, so the boy was now face to face with Konohamaru.

The Sarutobi's face was that of a pure fury and that was evident even to Moegi and Udon who couldn't exactly see his face. The killing intent he was radiating was palpable, almost visible and certainly touchable – they could feel the pressure weighting down on them.

Hanabi would deny this until the day she died, but her mouth dried up in an instant and the only reason she didn't step back was because her legs refused to listen to her, freezing her on the spot.

"I had enough of you" Konohamaru said slowly, seemingly furious enough to actually be calm. "I warned you, yet you seem to not have any manners. But don't worry, I'll teach you" he turned to his team, addressing them for the first time in many hours.

"Go on" he said. "Me and him need to have a little chat, right?" the last part was addressed at Izakoza.

They didn't move, watching as Konohamaru practically dragged the boy out of their sight.

Moegi was the first one to speak.

"What... the hell was that?"

"I..." Hanabi strained to get back to normal. "I don't know."

"I might be in a minority, but I have an advice" Udon remarked. "I suggest we don't try to anger Konohamaru for a while" he said. "Like for a month."

Both girls nodded slowly and the trio then resumed the trip.

They didn't know whether to expect any screams, but they didn't want to wait and find out.

After all, what you can't hear won't hurt you.

Right?

(* * *)

Konohamaru and Izakoza were back some time later. Their client looked normal for the most part, without any sign of physical violence, however it was clear that Konohamaru more or less achieved his goal, because the boy was now quiet and travelled on foot and closer to Konohamaru, making visible effort to stay away from Hanabi.

At least it was visible to Udon.

Not one of them tried to speak with Konohamaru as per Udon's advice. Yet it seemed that the daring behavior of Izakoza had its own benefits, because Konohamaru looked much more cheerful and less brooding since the accident.

The sacrifice of Hanabi's decency wasn't in vain after all.

It was already well past midday when they reached their destination. A small and peaceful town, full of greenery and packed with tourists. Thanks to Izakoza eager cooperation they quickly found a splendid manor on the outskirts on the town. Truth be told, Hanabi had been expecting Izakoza's parents accompanied by some kind of entourage, so she was quite surprised when they were met by a single elderly man.

"Kozaru?" the person questioned, making Izakoza flinch.

"Don't call me that grandpa!" Izakoza shouted back.

"Kozaru?" Moegi mouthed to Udon, giggling. "Small monkey? I think it fits him."

"Yeah" Udon whispered back. "I think that's not the only think about his name that fits."

Izakoza continued to object, but was quickly silenced.

"Quiet!" the man said and then turned to the shinobi. "Ah! I'm glad you're here. In truth, I have not been expecting you for another week. That's a very good job, delivering this little rascal. Very good job indeed."

"No problem, really!" Konohamaru answered, wearing a really false smile. But the man seemed not to see this.

"Maybe you would like to stay for a dinner and rest?"

"No, that's not necessary" Udon quickly answered and he was not the only.

"We're thankful for the invitation, but we will pass" Hanabi said, bowing.

"Really?" the man questioned. "But, you must be tired after your journey..."

"No way!" Konohamaru replied. "We are shinobi and we had a very good night of sleep."

"Liar!" Moegi, Udon and Hanabi thought at the same time.

"Well, if you say so..." the man said. "Izakoza, say goodbye to your caretakers."

"Umm..." the boy stammered out. "Goodbye."

"Bye" Udon said back and Hanabi just bowed. Konohamaru on the other side waited for the man and his team to look away and then performed a gesture that made Izakoza quickly turn away and follow his grandpa.

"Yes, we hope to see you again..." Moegi waved at the boy, smiling falsely. "In a million years" she added quietly when she turned to walk away with her team.

"Finally! We're done!" Konohamaru exclaimed, raising his fists into the air. "Now, to find some place to eat!" and with that he rushed ahead, leaving the rest of his team perplexed.

"Is he trying to get as to follow him or trying to get away from us?" Moegi asked Udon. "Do you think it is safe to talk to him now?"

Udon shrugged.

"I don't know" he admitted. "Honestly, I no longer can understand him..."

(* * *)

The rest of the day went by as strangely as expected. The team have booked two rooms in one of the inns and then scattered, looking for something to eat. Moegi and Udon were left alone – as Konohamaru and Hanabi both went on their own – but even they didn't exchange much words during their meal.

Finally, they have returned to their inn. When Moegi have entered the room she was sharing with Hanabi, she has found the Hyuuga girl already there, rummaging through her belongings. Moegi took a seat at makeshift vanity and proceeded to comb her hair, observing Hanabi from the corner of her eye. The girl seemed absent-minded, fumbling with her bag probably just to have something to do. Funny though, she expected her to be training when disturbed.

Moegi's thoughts were interrupted by knocking on the dor.

Hanabi raised her head, but the orange-haired girl stated calmly "Come in."

The door opened, revealing Udon.

"So?" Moegi asked immediately, catching Hanabi's attention. "How'd it go?"

Udon sighed.

"It didn't go at all" he explained. "Konohamaru is sleeping like a log."

"Hmpf, no wonder" Moegi rolled her eyes. "He was up the entire night before."

"I think we should give him his beauty sleep today" Udon concluded. "Maybe tomorrow he will be more friendly."

"Alright" Moegi said. "See you tomorrow, then."

"Goodnight" Udon said to both girls. Hanabi just nodded, deep in her own thoughts. Slowly a plan started to form in her head.

(* * *)

It was early in the morning, even the sun was lazily rising above the horizon, barely dispelling the dark of the night. Udon was snoring lightly while Konohamaru was sprawled on his bed and scratching his side from time to time.

And then there was a distinct quick knocking on the door.

Udon mumbled something in his sleep in response and Konohamaru didn't react at all.

Then the knocking repeated once more. With enough force to send the door swinging and hitting the wall.

"Wake up!"

Konohamaru shot up from his bed in panic, looking around frantically. Udon slowly raised from his bed and rubbed his eyes and then yawned. He then proceeded to switch from looking between flabbergasted Konohamaru and Hanabi standing in the doorway already in her shinobi clothes.

"Whaaa...? Why would I get uuuup?" Udon managed to both drawl and slur at the same time. "I'm on vacaaaaation."

"Not you" Hanabi told him. "I mean Konohamaru."

The boy in question opened and closed his mouth for a few times, but no words came out.

"I'm on vacation too" he mumbled clumsily after all.

"And that's a good time to train" Hanabi responded. Konohamaru looked confused. "Our deal" Hanabi clarified. "About me training you. Remember? Let's go."

Konohamaru gaped at her.

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

The boy visibly paled at that and looked at Udon with a pleading expression reminding that of a cornered animal.

Udon looked from Konohamaru to Hanabi and back again. Then he yawned and went back to sleep.

Hanabi turned her attention back to Konohamaru.

"I'll be waiting outside" she said, turning around. "You have two minutes."

Konohamaru only groaned at that.

(* * *)

"Okay, let us begin" Hanabi announced.

Konohamaru looked around. They were currently in a small clearing, some distance from their inn. A pretty secluded place. The feeling that Hanabi was going to murder him was getting stronger by the second.

"In order to unlock your potential, you need to learn how to battle with little power at your disposal."

"Uh-huh" he commented, still wary of her intentions.

"Fortunately for you, I have just the thing to help you."

"What do you-ow!" he cried out when she struck him with her Juuken right in the stomach.

And then a barrage of hits followed, he couldn't even count them properly. Soon he was lying on the ground, grunting in pain.

"What are you doing?" he heard her speak and opened his eyes only to see Hanabi standing over him. "Get up."

"Huh?"

"I just blocked some of your chakra flow to limit your battle power. You'll train like that."

A moment of silence, accompanied by her raised eyebrow.

"You're kidding right?" Konohamaru mumbled.

"No" she answered. "Now, get to work."

(* * *)

"Ow, ow..."

Konohamaru was lying on the ground, his chakra flow already returned to normal, but he felt like he was dying anyway. After all he has just survived a 3 hours training session completed with a sparring match. Hanabi was sitting across of him, panting a little herself.

He barely managed to start tiring her out before he collapsed himself.

Way to go Konohamaru.

Well, at least he survived for now.

He continued to lie down for a while. When he finally managed to control his breathing he asked the question that was in his head for a while now.

"Was that... Was that a punishment for two days ago?"

Truth be told, he expected her cutting his chakra flow again, yet nothing like that happened.

"Yeah..." Hanabi answered after a moment. "More or less."

Konohamaru was confused by her evasive answer, but before he decided to press on, Hanabi continued by herself.

"I mean, I know you didn't do it deliberately, I think... And it wasn't the brightest of me to go without telling anyone" she confessed. "But still, I know that's not the first time something like that happened and I want to say that I'm very disappointed with you, taichou!"

"Then I guess you would be disappointed with a lot of people you know or heard about."

"What do you mean?"

"Various things with various people" Konohamaru replied. "Anyway, I wanted to say that I'm sorry... I just thought you would be mad and you wouldn't want to talk to me..."

"For a while, yes..."

"So you're not angry anymore?" he asked.

"No" she answered. "Just don't do it again."

"Alright" he said. "Just to be clear. I didn't see anything, it was dark and a lot of water and... yeah..."

Hanabi fought to stop her cheeks from flushing. He didn't need to say that.

"And you?" she asked.

"What about me?"

"Are you still angry?"

He looked at her strangely. "I was never angry with you!"

"Not with me" Hanabi answered. "With Udon and Moegi."

Konohamaru sat up and looked at the ground.

"This is a matter between me and them. They should trust me a little more."

"I still think you overreacted."

"It's..." he couldn't ask her what she would've done if her friends happened to ridicule her in front of her crush, right? "It's complicated."

"They're still your teammates, you know..." Hanabi reminded him.

Konohamaru chuckled at that. "That's weird hearing that from you..."

She smiled a little at that.

"I'll talk with them, okay?" Konohamaru offered.

Hanabi couldn't do anything but nod.

"Good."

"So..." Konohamaru asked the question he dreaded. "So this was only for punishment?"

"No" Hanabi responded. "This will be our usual training session."

"I was afraid you were going to say that..."

They stayed like that for a while with Konohamaru still trying to regain his strength. He was sure he would be sore tomorrow. Hanabi on the other hand was once again immersed in her thoughts. She didn't know how Udon was feeling about Konohamaru being angry at him (he probably managed just fine, though), but she could kind of understand Moegi. While she couldn't figure out the specifics, she at least understood that Moegi was attracted to Konohamaru and therefore was most likely very worried about his behavior.

Hmpf, just another proof that such commitment with your teammate was nothing good.

Still, she was curious about one other thing...

"I don't know what about you, but I'm hungry" Konohamaru said after a moment.

"Yeah, let's go."

(* * *)

"Slow down, or you'll wind up larger than Chouji" Udon commented, making Moegi laugh and Hanabi shot him a confused look.

Konohamaru didn't even bother stopping eating to retort, partly because he was really hungry and partly because he still was a little angry with them.

Udon didn't care. There was finally some progress.

"Come to think of it, that's the first time the four of us are eating together" he noticed. "It's nice of you to join us, Hanabi."

Konohamaru stopped his brutal onslaught at his plate, having a hard time deciding between filling his stomach and joining the conversation, which was exactly what Udon expected.

Subtle teasing of friends was fun after all.

"That's right" Moegi echoed. "You should do that more often, Hanabi-chan" she chimed, glad that the issue has been resolved.

Hanabi blinked at that. She only joined them because she was curious of how the situation would unfold.

"Umm" she started, feeling strangely nervous. "I don't usually do things like that..."

"Oh, but you should" Moegi told her.

"What for?"

"To get to know each other. To have fun. Things like that."

"I don't have time for that" Hanabi answered, feeling three pairs of eyes on her. "I'm usually-"

"Training" the three of them finished for her.

"Um... yeah..."

"Then take this as a form of training on teamwork" Konohamaru suggested, smiling a smile that only Hanabi could understand. "You have to spend time with us after missions. And no buts" he added when Hanabi opened her mouth to object.

"Hmpf!" she said, turning away from him and resting her head on her hand.

Konohamaru just smiled. Aah, sweet revenge.

(* * *)

They continued to eat, talk and exchange gossip with Hanabi mostly observing them with varying degree of interest. Claiming that she truly enjoyed it would be an overuse. But it was not that bad.

Later in the day Hanabi excused herself and chose to have her own private training session. She needed to stay in shape after all. When she returned to her room, she saw that it was empty. The others were probably hanging out together doing... whatever they were doing in their free time. Hanabi decided to take a quick shower. She just hoped that Moegi wouldn't decide to burst inside in the middle of it.

She emerged after ten minutes, feeling really refreshed for the first time in several days. She proceeded to dry out her hair and then noticed something she usually didn't pay any but brief attention.

A full-size mirror placed in one of the corners of the room.

Normally, Hanabi didn't find much use for this object aside from getting herself in order before going out. She never understood why mirrors were used in such places, as if people constantly needed to see their own obvious reflections... But now she stopped herself, her gaze fixed on the mirror. She slowly walked towards it, the issue that was bothering her for some time coming to surface. Truth be told, it started the moment she was found by Konohamaru during her evening bath, but she didn't realize it back then. But the seed has already been inside her and sprouted during her training session with Konohamaru.

'I didn't see anything you know' she recalled him saying. So he didn't see anything. However, this led to the question that seemed to bother her.

The question was: did he WANT to see anything?

Now, Hanabi was quite the ambitious person, alway trying to compete with everyone she deemed worthy. However, usually this included her shinobi skills, but now it was different and she found herself asking the kinds of questions she never thought she would be asking...

Was she attractive? Was she attractive enough? Attractive enough for Kon-for men in general?

It was something new. Something unknown. Insecure. Something she was inexperienced with. She walked closer to the mirror and gazed at her own reflection only to see a girl wearing plain, boring clothes that was gazing, no glaring at her.

Was it how everybody else viewed her? How boys... how men viewed her? Why was it so important? She didn't need men! She didn't need anyone to dote on her, to disrupt her, to break her focus...

So why did she want it?

She slowly turned around, bending her neck to have a better look, feeling weird when she realized she was checking herself out. She even considered using her kekkei genkai, but then shook her head.

What was she thinking?

She once again looked into mirror and into her own bleak or, at the very best, plain expression. She tried to smile, but found out that the effect was weird... completely unlike the smile she has seen on Moegi, Udon or Konohamaru. Different from smiles of the Hokage, Naruto or even Sai.

What did it mean? Was she considered bleak and boring? Or even worse, was she really like that? Once again: what did it matter to her what everybody else thought of her in that aspect?

But that voice in her mind was already weak, outnumbered by plethora of other voices.

Was she pretty? Was she elegant? Was she nice? Who was less attractive than her? And who was more attractive?

In her thoughts she seated herself on the bed and started to absent-mindedly brush her hair.

Was she more attractive than her sister? Of course not! This train of thought was ridiculous, completely unlike her normal self. But it was already too late. Her thoughts wandered further and further, one more question bubbling to the surface.

Was she more attractive than-

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening and raised her head only to see the very same person she just thought about.

"Hey" Moegi greeted once she entered the room.

"Hey" Hanabi mimicked her and quickly hid her face, trying to comb a particularly stubborn and annoying curl. Where was her sister when she needed her?

She was surprised when Moegi took her comb out of her hand and sat behind her.

"What are you-"

"Shh..." Moegi hushed her. "You can thank me later" she added and started combing her hair.

Hanabi felt her cheeks grow hot when the orange-haired girl started straightening out all the difficult curls.

"What are you doing it?" Hanabi asked after a second.

"Why? Got any objections?" Moegi questioned.

"No, but-"

"Consider it a token of gratitude for getting Konohamaru back to normal. Almost normal... Anyways... I don't know what you did, but it worked for the most part. I think he has a chance to be cured out of his perverted issues if you continue to keep him in check."

"Don't mention it."

"And besides... I always wanted to have a younger sister."

At this Hanabi only groaned, her previous dilemma forgotten for now and replaced by another thought.

Sometimes being a little sister sucked.

(* * *)

The next day the entire team decided to go back and spend their remaining free days in Konoha. During the return trip Konohamaru was completely back to normal. Only from time to time, when he was certain no-one was watching him, he kept looking at Hanabi for a moment, only to shake his head and continue running forward.

They got to Konoha within half a day and after reporting to the Hokage (who seemed surprised that they managed to complete the mission without any blood on their hands) they separated.

For the next three days the old Konohamaru Corps hanged out like always. On the second day they have debated whether to go and visit Hanabi and take her for some 'hanging out training', but no-one of them was brave enough to enter the Hyuuga compound without invitation.

"No need to risk Hiashi's wrath" Udon reasoned. "And Hanabi would probably be embarrassed to have us as guests."

His friends both agreed, however Konohamaru did so with reluctance. No big deal though, he thought. He will see her in two days anyway.

Those two days went past fast and once again a team meeting was in order. Konohamaru went to their usual meeting spot. Finally, Ebisu-sensei was back (not that anyone missed him that much). Moegi and Udon came as usual as well.

Hanabi, however, did not.

**(* * *)**

**So... Hanabi seemed to disappear... Where is she and what will happen to our team?**

**You'll need to wait for the next chapter to find out! All I have to say is that the main part of this arc is just starting. And I'm planning for it to be a really important part. ;)**

**See you next time!**

**P.S. If you have trouble understanding the title for this chapter, just look up the meaning of Izakoza's name in a japanese dictionary ;)  
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**P.S. Today's reference is brought to you by Star Wars and Arthur and the Minimoys.**


	18. The reason

**Hello, everyone!**

**I proudly present the 17th (18th?) chapter of the Flower of Trees... and it's an important one!**

**Writing this chapter was definitely not easy... considering my self-imposed once-per-three-weeks update schedule. And it turned out some 2500–3000 words longer than I anticipated...**

**I just hope the next chapter will be of reasonable length as well, because in my mind it seems more like 1000–1500 words... but I don't have much choice. Some cliffhangers are already decided and they won't happen in any other way, but the planned one. We'll see.**

**Okay, let's get this show on the road!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by other parties. For example: a splendid manga artist Masashi Kishimoto and possibly by some "we-proved-we-can-make-good-episodes-but-we-will-use-poor-animation-most-of-the-time" anime studio... or something like that...**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

"Hey, I can see the gate already" Udon announced, bringing Konohamaru out of his reverie. He raised his head to look forward and, sure enough, the green gates of Konoha came into view.

"We're home!" Moegi shouted cheerfully, looking at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah" Konohamaru replied back, putting the best fake smile he could manage, enough to fool Moegi, even though she was looking straight at him.

However, it couldn't fool Ebisu, even when he was following after Konohamaru. The jounin sighed heavily. Even if his team was a band of mishaps, it still pained him to see them in such state.

As strange as it sounded, when speaking about a team of old academy friends, it was clearly not the same anymore without Hanabi.

When they got past the usual gate guardians – Kotetsu and Izumo – Ebisu thought back to the events a few days ago.

(* * *)

"I understand your concern, but you worry too much" Tsunade stated calmly, but her eyes told Ebisu that the Hokage did not appreciate Konohamaru's cheekiness and tone of voice.

"What do you mean I worry too much?" the Sarutobi replied back. "Hanabi's gone and you don't know where she is!"

"Konohamaru's got a point there" Udon backed his friend up. Moegi on the other hand just shook her head. Such behavior was normal for Konohamaru after all.

"I don't know where exactly she is, but that doesn't mean she disappeared" Tsunade clarified.

"What does it mean?" Udon asked.

Tsunade sighed.

"It's quite common for members of shinobi clans to take a leave from duty for several days. It usually has something to do with clan activities. For example Hyuugas, Inuzukas, Aburames and Akimichis ask for such leaves quite often. Other clans are rarely doing so" Tsunade explained calmly. "And since your team has five people, temporary absence of one person is nothing major" she added. "Are you satisfied now?"

Konohamaru clearly wasn't.

"I have never heard of my clan doing such things!" he responded cheekily.

"Now, now, each clan is an important asset to the village" Shizune interjected, clearly aware of the atmosphere between Konohamaru and the Hokage. "But you shouldn't compare your clan with the Hyuugas in this aspect."

Konohamaru cast Shizune a wary glance, while Udon exploited a moment of silence to talk out of turn.

"Hokage-sama, do you mean that Hanabi is officially on this 'clan leave'?"

"Yes" Tsunade answered. "Although I have to admit that the request came _post factum_. Anyways, I'm happy to hear that all of you are so deeply worried about the well-being of your teammate. Especially you, Konohamaru" Tsunade turned to the young boy. "Maybe you won't be the worst Hokage ever..." she smiled wickedly. "Only the second worst."

Konohamaru looked at his Hokage for a moment, the message "I'll get you for this one day" clearly visible on his face, and then turned on his feet.

"We're leaving guys!"

Tsunade watched Moegi and Udon walk out of the room with apologetic looks on their faces.

"Still, it's good to see our Konohamaru so full of enthusiasm" Hokage commented after a moment.

"Umm..." Ebisu, who was still in the room hesitated for a moment. "I think there might be more to it than meets the eye..."

"Hoo...? So you figured this as well, huh?" Tsunade said, looking at him with curiosity. "Still a little too late. You lose your touch, Ebisu."

"You mean you knew?"

"Of course, for some time now actually" she paused for a moment. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Ebisu. Take them for example: it'll be a while before both of them realize."

"And..." Ebisu started slowly. "You don't have anything against it?"

"Me?" Tsunade faked surprise. "No, not at all. Truth be told I already have a few little bets going" her eyes shifted in the direction of Shizune, who was looking the other way. Then the blonde smiled. A really evil smile.

"I can't wait till Hanabi wraps him around her little finger. With any luck she will pound some sense into him. Literally."

"You think that's a good idea?"

"Well... it worked with Naruto, right?" the Hokage answered. "And we all know whose miniature version Konohamaru is..."

"Oi, sensei! We're going ahead!" the voice of a miniature Naruto sounded from the corridor.

Tsunade sighed.

"Here's a mission for your team" she handed Ebisu a bunch of file. "And one more thing. I think your team is not stupid enough to try this, but please stop them from any attempts at approaching the Hyuuga compound. We can't have our future Hokage have a strife with our strongest clan, can we now?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama, I agree completely!"

"Good."

(* * *)

Ebisu returned to reality and sighed again. Their five-man cell was a strange bunch (stranger than other teams), but they started to get along just fine, better than he expected. The entire team continued their trip towards the Hokage office, not talking much. Soon, they were walking through the corridors of the ninja academy and Konohamaru had some distant nostalgic feeling.

It felt as if they were back to the days before Hanabi was a part of their team, before he knew her. Before she knew him. It was like it was that day again – them heading to the Hokage, except this time they won't meet her.

This feeling was surreal, but that quickly changed when Konohamaru walked through the doorway to the Hokage office and walked into Udon's back.

"Oomph! What's wrong, dude?"

Udon did not answer, instead looking forward. Konohamaru followed his gaze and his eyes widened.

In front of the Hokage desk, with an unreadable look on her face, stood Hanabi.

His heart soared for a moment, though he tried to hide it. He was also quick to notice a significant change in her clothing. The girl was no longer wearing her unique, Hyuuga-like clothes, but replaced it with a typical green Konoha chuunin vest and a pair of regular shinobi pants.

The final effect was unusual for her and just plain... plain.

"Yes, you may come in" Tsunade greeted them sarcastically. "I see you have already noticed that your missing teammate is back, right Hanabi?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Hanabi responded and the bowed slightly before her team. "I am deeply sorry for my indisposition."

Konohamaru blinked, getting another feeling of déjà vu, because her tone of voice was as emotionless as the first time he heard her speak. Granted, she didn't improve that much, but it was definitely a change for the worse.

"What do you mean indisposition?" Konohamaru questioned, before anyone could stop him.

"It was nothing important, just some boring clan business, Saru-I mean Konohamaru-san."

The members of old Konohamaru Corps at once opened their mouths, ready to comment, when Tsunade cleared her throat, getting their attention.

"Are you done yet?" she asked, a vein pulsing clearly visible on her forehead.

"Of course, we're awaiting your instructions, Hokage-sama!" Ebisu replied nervously.

"We've obtained a nice and urgent request. It seems like a C-rank mission, but it has the possibility to go into B-rank and is paid much more than B-rank. However, you need to be quick to get it done. There's no much time for explaining, so I'll get to the point..."

Konohamaru didn't really listen to the Hokage and continued to observe Hanabi. He noticed her fiddle with her new clothes, like they were disturbing her. He exploited the moment when Hokage was reading some papers aloud and nudged Udon.

"What do you think of this?" he asked in a whisper. "Don't you think she seems... cold? I mean colder than usual."

"Yeah..." Udon answered. "And what with those clothes?"

"I know, right?" Konohamaru agreed. "I liked the old ones better."

"It's not just the clothes, I'm more interested..." but Udon stopped immediately when he noticed the Hokage throw them a warning glare.

"We'll talk later" Udon finished.

After a few minutes the team has left the room with their new mission.

"It's good to know that the team is back together. Right, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked with a bright smile.

Silence...

"Tsunade-sama?"

"How long it was since I've sent you on a mission last time, Shizune?"

"Huh?"

(* * *)

"There's nothing here!" Udon reported while coming out of one of the demolished rooms. It was obvious he meant 'everything except the bodies and general signs of battle' that were visible everywhere.

"Ugh!" Konohamaru uttered grumpily. "You mean we traveled here for half a day without resting to retrieve those documents, but they're not here anymore? That just fantastic!"

They were currently inside an old and almost completely decrepit house, craftily hidden in the woods. The mission plan was simple. Get to the specified location. Obtain the documents requested by the anonymous client, by force if needed. Act stealthy. Act quick.

And now it seemed the plan failed. Konohamaru briefly wondered if they will be paid for this mission.

"Calm down, everyone" Ebisu announced. He pulled out a map and spread it over a table that seemed ready to collapse at the slightest pressure.

"The Hokage wanted this mission to go quick in order to evade this situation, but the luck wasn't on our side. However, we have information about three other similar hideouts."

"So we simply need to check the other three, right?" Moegi asked.

"We don't have enough time to check them in sequence" Ebisu explained. "That means-"

"Shadow clones!" Konohamaru announced happily.

"Forget about it" Ebisu told him. "You're not that good at espionage and the clones just won't hold in a battle of this magnitude" he pointed to the ramshackle building.

"So what do we do?" Moegi asked, while patting depressed Konohamaru on the back.

Ebisu was silent for a moment.

"I'm reluctant to do it, but I'm afraid we don't have much choice. We need to split up."

"Eh? You mean to split into three groups?" Udon questioned. "Won't it be too dangerous? This could be a trap."

"Precisely. That's why we'll only split into two groups. One will head for the east hideout, while the other will go to the west. If those two hideouts are dead-end, then both groups will head towards the last, north hideout. That's our best shot" Ebisu looked up from the map and at the four of them. "We'll go with the usual setup. Moegi, Udon, you go with me to the east hideout" Ebisu pointed at the map. "Hanabi, Konohamaru, can I count on you to CAREFULLY go check the west one?"

"Of course" Konohamaru immediately answered, eager for some action.

"But, sensei, we could-" Hanabi started.

"Can I count on you?" Ebisu repeated with more force.

"Yes, sensei..." the Hyuuga girl concurred.

"That's what I like to hear. Konohamaru, you'll be the leader in this two-man cell, but don't do anything too risky. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's not waste any more time."

(* * *)

They had only one map, so they quickly made a copy and Konohamaru was now using the few minutes he got in order to memorize it, just in case. It was a good idea... pity Ebisu-sensei was the one who suggested it...

He heard some steps and turned around. Ebisu, Moegi and Udon had already left, so it could only be Hanabi back with their supplies. And sure enough – he saw the Hyuuga girl emerge from behind one of the half-broken walls.

"Okay" he said. "Let's do it quickly, we need-"

"If have been thinking" Hanabi spoke like she didn't hear him at all. "Approaching two hideouts at the same time is just not enough. I think we should split and check both west and north hideouts."

Konohamaru remained quiet for a moment.

"You're not serious, are you?" he asked.

"Of course I am" Hanabi answered, her voice as monotone as ever. "That's the single most effective way to complete this mission."

"The most effective?" Konohamaru repeated to no-one in particular. "Are you hearing yourself? If it was so simple we could just send Moegi, Udon and sensei to those three places and we could stay here and rest. Shinobi lives are more important than this! We're not just simple tools! "

"I know that" Hanabi responded, sounding calm, but Konohamaru already knew her enough to recognize tension showing on her face. "But you'll have your shadow clones. That's not anymore risky than going with me."

"And what about you?" Konohamaru asked.

"I can handle myself."

He couldn't believe it. Didn't they have this argument before? Memories from their previous missions flooded back to him. It was just like back then.

But why?

"No, you can't" he stated not asked. "Don't you see it's too risky?"

"I do" she answered. "And I accept this risk."

"What?" he mouthed out in surprise. "You've got to be kidding me. What're you trying to prove?"

"Nothing... I just want to complete the mission."

"And risk the village lose such strong shinobi and an important asset as you?"

"I'm not an important asset! Not nearly as important as you!" she shouted.

A silence ensued during which Konohamaru's mouth opened and Hanabi's closed, to the point when she covered her mouth with her hands, clearly indicating thar she didn't intend to say that aloud.

Konohamaru's mind was reeling. It didn't make any sense. Hanabi, Hyuuga Hanabi, the prodigy of her clan, thought of herself as lower than him? Low enough to boldly execute such strategy with such risk in order to complete the mission? Since when?

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" he asked, feeling more and more confused. And scared. "What happened?"

"Nothing" she repeated the obvious lie. Good thing he still had one ace up his sleeve.

"Look, I'm the leader here and I say we're going with the original plan. That's an order!"

Hanabi opened her mouth to object, but then her eyes widened, gaze fixed somewhere above his shoulder. Before he could question her, Hanabi reached for her kunai pouch. The look on her was genuine, so Konohamaru, the veteran prankster, turned around... falling for the oldest trick in the book.

A second later he was out cold on the ground after receiving a chakra-enhanced blow to his neck.

"Sorry" Hanabi spoke to his unconscious form. "You're an idiot... big enough to dream of becoming a big-shot like Hokage... I've always looked down on you, clinging to my illusion of life... I hope your generation will produce strong and wise shinobi. You'll definitely need advisors once you become Hokage..."

She pulled out her own, hastily made, copy of the map to the north hideout and put it in his hand.

"Please, don't follow me" she pleaded.

And then she was gone.

(* * *)

"Ugh!" Konohamaru rubbed his neck, while staring at the piece of paper left by Hanabi, without doubt her own creation, judging from a delicate girly handwriting (no matter how ridiculous "delicate", "girly" and "Hanabi" sounded in one sentence).

Did she, like, hit her head lately? Like, rammed it into a rock? Like, repeatedly?

He quickly made a bunch of clones, one heading forth the north hideout with the map, just in case, and the others were sent to the east, following his vague memory of the location of the east hideout.

As for the west hideout, he remembered its location well and immediately started to follow Hanabi. He knew he would be able to find her.

He already had a lot of experience with tailing her.

(* * *)

The house serving for the west hideout looked as old and off-putting as the previous one, but aside of it was more or less intact. Konohamaru was tempted to barge in with a team of clones, but decided against it. He needed more information.

He slowly approached the building, praying that he wouldn't be noticed by anyone hostile. Most of the windows were sealed with wooden planks, but he got a glimpse inside, only to see dark and somewhat spooky, but still pretty ordinary interior. He soon noticed that one of the windows on the first floor was untouched and half-open, so he jumped and landed quietly next to it.

Slowly, he opened the window, making sure to not make any noise. Then, as slowly as before, he slipped into the room and carefully put his feet on the floor. He cast a glance at the room and grabbed a small pocket mirror that was conveniently lying on top of some drawer, nearly forgotten. It was plain, old and broken, but still useful. Konohamaru pulled out a kunai and started to move towards the door, thankful that a thick layer of dust muffled his steps.

He reached the doorway and used his stolen... captured mirror to peek around. This was really useful. He should have one of those... or maybe use his forehead protector. Or maybe a polished kunai... Or a shuriken.

Seeing that the way was clear, he slowly walked past the doorstep, hoping that the floor would not creak. In front of him there was a corridor that, after several meters, ended with a staircase going downward. Konohamaru reached the corner and once again used his newest tool to check his surroundings in advance. He had barely taken a look and immediately saw something that made him gasp soundlessly.

Just beyond a corner there was a body of some shinobi from a village Konohamaru did not recognize. The shinobi was leaning against the wall and was not moving. There were no visible signs of wounds or bleeding, so the shinobi could be sleeping, but Konohamaru very much doubted it. He was used to training, fighting, attacking and hurting enemies. And worse. But still, he tried not to think about the motionless figure next to him.

Or any motionless figures for that matter...

Konohamaru crouched, readied his kunai and carefully checked the pulse of the shinobi, only confirming his suspicion. He then moved closer to the stairs and looked over the railing, but still couldn't see anything of interest on the floor below. He rose to his feet and then started moving deeper into the new corridor, spotting two rooms: one on the left and a second, a little closer, to the right.

He chose to first check the right room, but he made no more than two steps when something blurry passed very close to his face.

Thunk!

Konohamaru blinked and saw a kunai with an exploding tag embedded into the wall. Quickly, acting purely on instinct, Konohamaru grabbed the paper tag and crumpled it in his hand, disarming it. Before he could do anything else, however, the enemy threw another kunai at him and he barely dodged it, forced to step back, getting dangerously close to the stairs.

He ignored this fact for now, because the enemy jumped out of the other room and was already close to him, perfectly exploiting his position after his dodge attempt. The enemy attacked from the side, but he could still see the attack. So instead of taking the hit or getting back, Konohamaru decided to advance and swung his kunai in a wide circle. He intended to cut somewhere close to the neck, but he knew his aim was off and would miss somewhere close to the enemy's chest. He was surprised though, when he felt his knife make a brief contact.

The enemy jumped back and Konohamaru turned to press home his advantage, but he was immediately frozen on the spot.

"Hanabi?"

The enemy figure raised its head and Konohamaru saw those lilac-white eyes that couldn't belong to anyone else. Hanabi had a nasty combat look on her face, but when she saw him her face changed to surprise and even some degree of fear.

"I'm so sorry, taichou!" Hanabi shouted a little too loud. "Are you hurt?"

"I should be the one asking you that" Konohamaru replied, his gaze fixed on her clothes.

His attack that was aimed much higher ended up on her hip, ripping her shirt and leaving a small cut. It was nothing serious, especially for a tough and trained girl like Hanabi. Still, he felt a pang of regret. It pained him that he had hurt her instead of protecting her like he wanted.

Ugh! Protect her? It sounded absurd even in his own mind (especially after a few tries) and Hanabi wouldn't approve of it as well. She's made her opinion on this topic known to him at times.

Hanabi followed his gaze. "Oh... you don't need to concern yourself with that, it's nothing."

There it was again... this "you don't need to worry about me, I'm not important" mantra of hers.

She was fiddling with her clothes again, as if she was not used to them or if they didn't feel right. He noticed she was doing it subconsciously, which was weird, considering that Hanabi was supposedly calm and collected and Konohamaru realized he had never seen any such habit of her, except for her manner of speech and a few situations when she let her guard down. He watched her raise her hand and adjust another part of her clothing again.

And it was then when it hit him.

It was a total surprise to him, but then it shouldn't. He was supposed to be a first-class ninja, a future Hokage candidate. As such shinobi he was supposed to see beneath the underneath, yet he somehow managed to miss it. He now knew what Udon meant back then at the Hokage's office.

Hanabi continued to speak, unaware of his train of thought.

"...so I think we really should-"

"What's with the headband?"

"Huh?" Hanabi stopped her monologue, blinking at him.

"It wasn't there before."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Your forehead protector" Konohamaru said, pointing at her forehead. Sure enough, a metal plate with Konoha symbol was there, kept in place by a dark violet piece of cloth.

Hanabi blinked, opening and closing her mouth a few times, but no sound came out.

"W-what do you mean it wasn't there before?" she finally stammered out in totally un-Hanabi-like manner that Konohamaru would consider extremely cute in any other situation.

"I mean I've never seen you wear one."

"O-if course I have! You just don't pay attention to details!"

"No, it wasn't there" Konohamaru shook his head. "I'm not THAT stupid. What's with all of this?" he gestured to all of her. "You left me, your superior officer, despite my orders. And you start this 'leave me alone crap' again. I thought we were past this."

"It-it's..." Hanabi stuttered. "It's not your business!" she spat out suddenly, surprising him.

"Of course it's my business" Konohamaru said back. "And you certainly weren't wearing that before." Konohamaru said, while reaching out with his hand, intending to only point at her headband, but Hanabi's eyes widened and she flinched, visibly enough to make Konohamaru stop in midway in hesitation.

"What's wro-"

"I told you it's not your business!" she repeated

They stayed like that for a moment, each of them almost hearing the other one's thoughts. And then Konohamaru boldly lunged forward, but Hanabi was prepared and her reaction was instantaneous.

In one fluid motion, so similar to her usual smooth acrobatics, she slapped his hand away and painfully slugged him under his ribs, making him wince and tumble backwards. She then turned on her foot intending to get away when she suddenly felt a strong tug.

Her attack went well. Too well. Because when Konohamaru tumbled back his feet did not land on the floor, but on a stair two steps below. He panicked and started to flail his arms around trying desperately to grab onto something.

And the closest thing, unbeknownst to him, happened to be Hanabi.

He pulled with all his might, almost, almost managing to restore his balance. Unfortunately, despite her fiery nature and ninja skills Hanabi was still a petite, 16 year-old and surprisingly light girl.

Thus, it should be no surprise that his actions resulted in Hanabi smacking right into him and then both of them fell backwards, for once the same thought passing through their minds.

"Oh shit..."

What followed was a cacophony of sounds – groans, thuds and creaking of wood mixed together, nicely complementing the sight of two bodies rolling down, different limbs appearing and disappearing from view randomly.

Hanabi's vision became a blur of colors. She was vaguely aware of the situation. She knew she was falling (piteously, if she may add) down the stairs, hitting everything along the way: steps, railing, walls... Konohamaru... but she couldn't tell what she was hitting (or what was hitting her)... she was immersed in darkness.

She didn't know how much time have passed... it couldn't be more than a few seconds... maybe half a minute... but it felt like half an hour.

To tell the truth it should be easy to notice when she finally hit the floor at the bottom of the stairs. But she didn't notice. Only after a moment, which felt like eternity she realized that she was lying with her eyes closed, her entire body sore. By tomorrow she will be covered by dozens of bruises and she was pretty sure that her head was bleeding or at least felt like it was going to break. A pained, neither distant nor close sounding groan reached her ears, making her secretly hope that Konohamaru was in even more pain than she was.

Despite this she felt ashamed... she was supposed to be a capable shinobi, with enough ability to beat several chuunin-level enemies at once. She was honing her skill everyday and was used to receiving a beating and feeling of soreness after a long training session. She was supposed to be unyielding and impervious to pain.

And yet here she was – defeated by mere stairs.

She continued to lie there, waiting for the pain to fade away, she was just beginning to think what she will do to Konohamaru when she felt something. A rush of warm air that hit her face and then another one that brushed past her cheeks.

Her eyes shot open and she was immediately mortified.

Konohamaru was hovering over her, propping himself on his hands – one was placed below one of her own, chaotically spread arms and resting (dangerously) close to her waist, while the other was, from what she could see, placed somewhere to the left of her face. She guessed that one of Konohamaru's legs was bent in the knee and resting against the floor. She didn't need to guess about his other leg, as she could clearly feel it, leaning on her own...

A wave of embarrassment, fear and anger washed over her. She felt a sudden urge to slap him for his indecency and at the same time she wanted to Juuken him into next week. She couldn't decide on either, so she chose to simply punch him square in the face.

She faltered, however, because she felt something the moment she clenched her right hand into a fist. It was kind of soft and familiar. Her fogged mind already figured everything out, but her heart refused to admit it, so she turned her head to the side and then her heart sank.

It was only out of the corner of her eye, but there was no doubt – she was holding the cloth of her own forehead protector, the very cloth Konohamaru pulled on when he was about to fall down the stairs.

She felt panic swell in her quickly, multitude of thoughts rushing through her head while she frantically searched for a way out of this situation and-

"Hey..."

She froze, struck to the core by his voice. It was one simple word, but it carried something, something she could not place accurately. Maybe fear, maybe curiosity. Whatever it was, it was there.

She knew there was no escape now. Her resolve was crushed and she slowly turned her head back to look at him. She was not prepared to face him... anyone really... She looked at him and found herself surprised. Konohamaru was looking at her intensely, more intensely than she's ever seen him look at her. His face was a mix between shocked and confused and completely unbeknownst of his own bruises already visible on his face.

She thought she was used to people staring at her, but his intense gaze gave birth to another wave of embarrassment that had nothing to do with the previous one. She looked into his eyes and then she realized the obvious – he was not looking at her eyes, lips or her face in general.

A few more seconds passed with neither of them blinking.

"What is that?" Konohamaru finally breathed out, his gaze fixed on Hanabi's forehead, where the pale green lines outlined the cursed seal of the Hyuuga clan.

**(* * *)**

**So there you have it... a really important development... you should know that I usually accept all comments and constructive critique, but please be gentle this time. Pretty please.**

**Some (majority? All?) of you may complain about the lack of romance... well this arc is not over yet and it will considerably shift the adventure-romance "balance" of this story. I can promise you that.**

**As a side note... first 70% of this chapter was created solely for the sake of the final scene. It didn't turn out as logical and smooth as I'd like... but I think it holds up well enough...**

**Side note 2: anyone wonders about the Hokage's betting skills? :)**

**As always you're welcome to drop me a review.**

**See you next time!**

**P.S. Today's references are brought to you by Transformers and How to Train Your Dragon... kinda...  
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	19. The plot

**Hello, everyone!**

**Here's the newest chapter of the Flowers of Trees and it is a week earlier (despite having some 6000 words). Consider it an early Christmas gift and do not expect another chapter for another three weeks (especially since I have a lot on my shoulders right now).**

**As I said before, this chapter is quite the important one and I hope you'll like it. On the other hand, I'm not sure how many chapters are left for this arc (probably 2), since I don't know how much text I will produce around the usual important parts.**

**Some more general issues concerning the fact that Naruto series is ending (at least the manga). To put it in simple words: I'm not going to change anything in the present or future chapter (well, maybe except for making the troublesome noble boy Izakoza a little older, because 10 years might have not been a good idea after all). So, Tsunade stays the Hokage. Naruto's hair and hands remain as they are now. Hanabi's personality and appearance remains as stated. And all the pairings remain as before.**

**Also sorry if there are some spelling errors (I mean more than usual) as I was determined to post this chapter today.**

**Okay, let's get this show on the road.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Even if he starts to make weird decisions. Naruto also belongs to people making the anime... even if they started to make weird decisions long ago.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

The mission report was resting on her desk and Tsunade gaze was fixed on it. She wasn't reading it though. Actually she wasn't really noticing it. She just stayed like that for a moment, unmoving, with her bitter face hidden behind her locks.

While the atmosphere around her was sad and heavy, it was certainly calm at the same time.

However, that was nothing more than the eye of the storm, which ended as soon as Konohamaru processed Tsunade's words.

"What do you mean it's a Hyuuga clan cursed seal!?" he practically roared, both his fists on the Hokage's desk. Shizune stepped back at that. She was no longer trying to calm the young Sarutobi. But the Tsunade-sama would definitely get angry, she thought. She took another step back... and one more, just to be safe.

"Konohamaru-kun, calm down immediately!" Ebisu reprimanded his student.

"Calm down?" Konohamaru shouted over his shoulder. "How can I be calm when something like this happens?" he turned his head to the Hokage. "I've heard Naruto-niisan speak once of something like this. Just after the war, but I don't remember anything specific. What exactly is this cursed seal?!"

"Enough!" Ebisu put his hand on Konohamaru's shoulder applying more pressure than necessary.

"I'm not going anywhere until-"

"Ebisu..."

Four pairs of eyes, Ton-ton's included, turned to the Hokage, her face still hidden from view.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"I gather that the rest of your team is even more confused about the entire situation, right?"

"I guess so..."

"Give them short and less detailed version, so they at least know what's going on" she said slowly. "Do it now, please."

"Um..." Ebisu hesitated for a moment. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

And then he was gone.

"Leave as alone Shizune."

The dark-haired woman only nodded and left after throwing Konohamaru an uneasy glance. The boy waited till he could no longer hear her steps in the corridor.

"It means it's bad, right?" he asked finally.

He was beginning to doubt that Tsunade heard him at all when she spoke.

"The information I'm going to tell you is not considered top-secret or anything, but it's not exactly common knowledge either, so you should listen carefully."

She paused for a moment and then raised her head. A feeling of satisfaction passed through her when she realized that was the first time Konohamaru was paying this much attention to her words.

She sighed. This won't be an easy talk.

"Where do I start? I suppose you know that the Hyuuga consider themselves our strongest clan and go to great lengths to secure that position, right?"

Konohamaru only nodded.

"The Hyuugas try to achieve this in a specific way. They divide their members into two separate houses: the main house and the branch house."

"Yeah" Konohamaru said absent-mindedly. Naruto-niisan mentioned something like that.

"And the purpose of the branch house is to protect the members of the main house, right?" Konohamaru asked and pressed on without asking for Tsunade's answer. "What's any of this have to do with this cursed seal thing?"

"Everything" the Hokage simply answered. "The seal is given to all members of the branch family. It seals up the Byakugan at death, so it won't fall into enemy hands. Moreover, it allows the members of the main house to inflict brain damage with a special handseal. Death is possible as well. This is the last-resort way of forcing obedience from the branch house. It's called the ultimate fear of death."

Tsunade paused for a moment, observing Konohamaru's reaction. For a moment he reminded motionless. Then his face slumped down and he started shaking.

"You gotta..." he mumbled quietly.

"What was that?"

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" he shouted at her. "HOW SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD EVEN EXIST?"

Tsunade waited for him to calm down, though she realized it wouldn't happen, cause he switched from anger to sadness. She even heard him sniff a little.

"I know what you mean... I don't approve of such means to protect the clan's lineage, although I can't directly interfere with their traditions. As long as it helps protect the village, it's usually allowed."

"How can it be?" Konohamaru asked, tears welling in his eyes. "This is cruelty."

Tsunade sighed again. This was the more difficult part.

"You have to understand that usually it's not like this" she started. "When a clan's head has multiple children, the first is trained to be the heir. It is especially so because Hyuugas do not have children very often, which doesn't surprise me at all. In result, there are several years of difference between the siblings or often the clan's head has only one child. In such situations the talent doesn't really matter. The first child will be trained and the others will not and because of this the first child will be the strongest and most suited to be the heir of the clan."

"I can't see what's so different about that? It's still cruelty!"

"Yes, but it's different" Tsunade explained patiently. "The other children are branded with the seal very early on. They don't have anything to regret. They accept their place in the clan and the life goes on. Usually the branch family does not cause any problems. There are no signs of disloyalty and the cursed seal is therefore not used to cause pain. The only effect is the sealing of Byakugan at death... obviously for the one being dead it doesn't matter anymore."

"What do you mean very early on? Hanabi is fifteen for Kami's sake!"

"I told you" Tsunade reminded him. "In normal situations, she would be branded not long after birth. Usually such a system, more or less, works. But there are certain situations when it can mess things up."

"Like what?"

"Twins for example" Tsunade answered simply. "When Hiashi and Hizashi were born they had the same talent and skills. But Hiashi was born first. Of course Hizashi was branded quickly and accepted his position. However, he was always bitter because he was born a few minutes later than his brother. The problem began when both of them got children of their own. It was obvious that Neji was more capable than Hinata, but he was already part of the branch family. This made his father even more bitter, resulting in his hate towards the main house and his need to release himself from his cursed fate. And the same was true for Neji."

"But Hanabi and Hinata are not twins!"

"Yes" Tsunade admitted. "What I am about to tell you is mostly about my own assumptions, but I think they're more or less correct" she sighed again. "Usually Hinata would become the heir from the start and Hanabi would be branded at a very young age. If that had happened, then Hanabi would have already accepted her fate. However, this issue is more complicated."

Konohamaru hardly managed to remain silent, waiting for the Hokage to continue.

"When Hinata was born she was obviously treated as the future head of the clan. However, in a few years it became painfully clear that she was weak. Moreover, she was a girl, so when her mother expected another child, the entire clan switched its attention to it. If the newborn would be above average Hyuuga boy, then he would be trained as the heir instead of Hinata. And it turned out that the second child was above-average alright. But it was a girl again. Thus the clan, and by that I primarily mean the council, was facing a dilemma. Who will become the heir and who will be branded?"

"But neither of them was branded back then!" Konohamaru noticed.

"Exactly" Tsunade confirmed. "The clan decided to wait and compare both sisters in battle. Hanabi won that one, so Hiashi has decided to train her. Hanabi was still very young though, so she was not officially chosen yet and Hinata was not branded with the cursed seal. I presume that it was Hiashi who did that. Though rather cold towards Hinata (a common feature amongst the Hyuugas), he loved her and didn't want her to be branded, so he delayed the decision as much as possible. Ironically, the longer the delay, the more shock when the decision was finally made."

"But it's Hanabi who's been-"

"I was getting to that" Tsunade scolded him, slightly irritated that she was interrupted. "Everyone assumed that Hinata will be weak forever. She was put in a normal genin team and thus had a chance to had mostly normal life, away from the clan. However, then our other idiot Hokage candidate came along and unknowingly changed Hinata's view-point. Well, after some time it became obvious that she had a crush on him. The result was that Hinata quickly got stronger and threatened Hanabi's position in the clan. Especially since Hinata had the chance see the world outside of the clan and became quite versatile, which couldn't be said about Hanabi. You can see this easily as well, right?"

Konohamaru only nodded.

"This made Hiashi even more conflicted" Tsunade conitnued. "Now not only he was delaying the heir choice, but he no longer knew who he would like to choose. As for what the girls wanted – it was Hinata who was always shy, didn't have any confidence and disliked her clan. She didn't want to be the leader or marry politically. Hanabi, on the other hand, was prepared for the position of the heir from her youngest years. The life of a Hyuuga girl is tough and being a clan leader is even tougher, but Hanabi was pampered and at least knew she would be very important in her clan and in the village. Her future seemed firm and as brilliant as the future of the Hyuuga's princess could get."

"However, that's when the strangest thing happened. Hinata decided to fight for the position of the heir. My guess is that she wanted to change the clan she disliked so much. She had much experience from the war, she was gentle and diplomatic and she would have many allies, even among the five Kages. And of course Naruto. This of course affected Hanabi – when her position in the clan was questioned, she changed. Used to being important and served she reacted violently when the ground started to quickly shrink beneath her feet. In my opinion Hinata's decision was wise – Hanabi was raised as an inexperienced and spoiled brat, so the Hyuuga council started to see that Hinata might've been a better leader. From the point of view of the clan or the village this was a correct choice... However, problem remains that Hanabi was branded and her world was crushed."

"Crushed?"

"There are several reasons I'm telling you this. One of them is that you should be able to understand her. She was supposed to be someone great and important, above others. But now she's been reduced to a branch family. I bet she thinks of herself as an unimportant foot soldier. That's why she tried to sacrifice herself on the last mission. Her entire future crushed down on her and she's lost now."

Konohamaru remembered the last mission. And what Hanabi told him under that tree in the Land of Earth. It all made sense. And it all made him even more angry. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, clearly not knowing what to say.

"How do you know all of this?" he mumbled out finally.

"Honestly, most of it are just my assumptions" Tsunade replied. "And some experience dealing with Hyuugas. As for the cursed seal itself, I have realized as soon as Hanabi was back."

And that's why I send Shizune to gather some intel, she thought to herself.

"Well, what you think of all of this is your choice" she said aloud while leaning back on her chair. "The girl could definitely use a little cheering up... Obviously she would kill you before she admits it."

Though, who knows... maybe not anymore, the Hokage thought while watching the young Sarutobi.

"Umm..." Konohamaru started, fidgeting with his fingers strangely. "Cheer her up? You mean, like, go to the Hyuuga compound?"

"I don't recommend that. Besides, Hanabi's not at home. She's at the hospital."

"What?" he asked. "Why?"

"I had her stay because of her extensive injuries."

"Extensive injuries? We fell down the stairs, that's not such a big deal!"

"Yes. You, me and Hanabi know that. But Hiashi and the Hyuuga council don't."

"What do you mean?"

"I simply told Hiashi that Hanabi needs to stay in the hospital for a while. This we'll give us time to do something."

"Do something?" he repeated, understanding showing in his eyes. "Do you want to confront the clan or something?"

"I can't do it. Not directly. But I'll look into that. You might wanna try to help Hanabi face the reality... as soon as Sakura permits you to visit her. That is all."

Konohamaru blinked at her.

"But..."

"No buts. Leave. And call Shizune back."

Tsunade waited till Konohamaru, reluctantly, left her office. Then she closed her eyes and spoke up.

"You can show yourself now" a second later she opened her eyes and looked up at the face of her probable successor.

"You heard everything, right? So, what do you think of it?"

"You know exactly what I think" Naruto answered. He sounded mostly calm, but Tsunade knew it was only a façade.

"Figures" she commented. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

Naruto put his hand on the desk and was silent for a moment, he perked up when he heard the sound of footsteps. And they were getting closer.

"I wanted to do it after I became Hokage, but it seems I need to hurry" he said and then walked past Tsunade and stopped at the open window.

"I'm gonna have a friendly chat with someone. I'll try not to declare a war. See you."

The door opened and Shizune walked in.

"You called for me, Tsunade-sama?"

The Hokage was looking out through the window, as if the afternoon sky was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Is something the matter?" Shizune asked.

"Only time will tell" was the Hokage's answer.

(* * *)

The sun was already preparing to settle, covering the entire Hyuuga compound in an eerie glow. A sliding door of one of the rooms have opened and a lone figure walked in. The person sighed heavily and then seated itself in front of a desk.

Suddenly, the figure perked up and was still for a moment, as if searching for some invisible presence. And then sighed again.

"I should commend you on managing to slip into the compound this easily."

"Let's just call it a slight abuse of the famous Hyuuga hospitality. And good evening, Hiashi-san."

The head of the Hyuuga clan turned around and asked:

"Good evening" he answered. "Though, I would like to know to what I owe this unannounced visit..."

"You know what to exactly" Naruto answered. He seemed calm and collected, but the Hyuuga clan head was not fooled – the boy was quite on edge. The visit came later than Hiashi anticipated, but now he wondered if the delay wasn't simply needed for the boy to calm down.

For the third time in the last five minutes Hiashi sighed. Frankly, he knew it would come to this. It was logical. That's what being Hyuuga representative was all about.

"So, you've heard about Hanabi... The Hokage told me she was wounded and needed medical attention, though that was probably just an excuse. I expected this much. But Hanabi didn't want for anyone to know and the clan didn't tell anyone either. Might I ask how did you all learn about it? "

"Let's just say Hanabi's team is not so dumb as she thought. And her behavior changed so much. You know what she's coming through, right?"

"Do you?" Hiashi asked.

"More or less" the blond former jinchuuriki answered. "The Hokage explained it. Something about talent, shyness and birth order. To sum it up, a spoiled brat crushed when her future broke to pieces in one night..."

"So you already know that much... This is surprising..."

"Huh... you expected me to know nothing about this?"

"That's not what I meant... It's just" Hiashi started slowly, as if he had difficulty with forming words "I simply expected that both you AND the Hokage will come to visit me earlier today. And that neither of those visits will be friendly..." he paused for a moment. "Actually, my other daughter... though she chose to lead the clan I still thought she would want to have my head for not being able to protect her younger sister..."

"Protect?" Naruto asked.

"Do you really think I enjoy the fate my own children were put through?" Hiashi told him. It was Naruto's turn to question the Hyuuga's seemingly calm demeanor – the man started to shake ever so slightly. "Hanabi was supposed to be talented, wise and capable leader, while Hinata would assume her position as the branch family member and live as happy life as a branch family member could! But I failed... I didn't manage to see Hinata's true potential... When I finally noticed it, so did the council! I should've known back then... I should've prepared Hanabi for the result that would happen anyway..."

Hiashi was now visibly shaking.

"I don't deny that I rejected my daughter when she was young... and I'm fully prepared to face the consequences... Hinata would be completely right to hate me forever. I can live with that... The problem is that my judgement was flawed! I couldn't see my real daughter! And then I prolonged my other daughter's suffering trying to protect her... The decision made by council is good for the clan and no other could be made... I wish... I just wish I have prepared both of my daughters properly for what came!"

At this point Hiashi was practically sprawled on the ground, looking like he was begging for forgiveness.

Naruto just snorted.

"Things like this don't work on me..."

"Yes, I know" Hiashi replied. "And I'm sorry that you had to see me in such state and-"

"And Hinata's not angry with you, you know..."

"I know" Hiashi responded. "And I... Wait, what did you say just now?"

It was Naruto's turn to sigh. He stood up and moved in the direction of the still open window. Thinking of that, he should really try using doors more.

"You heard me" Naruto turned back to him, his hand already on the window frame. "Don't get me wrong" he continued as he saw the furrowed brows and confused look on Hiashi's normally stoic face. "She still blames you and the clan for obvious reasons. But she wants to change it for the benefit of all of us."

"You talked to her before you came to me?"

"No" Naruto answered, slightly narrowing his eyes. "I talk with her from time to time. She's my friend, you know? We have similar views on the current and future state of your clan, so we work together to achieve that goal. You could call that an alliance I suppose... or more like resistance" he finished.

"I don't understand" Hiashi's brows were no more furrowed, they were raised so high that his forehead seemed to shrink to half its size. "For what purpose you visited me tonight then?"

"Mmm..." Naruto contemplated this for a moment, already half through the window, his back facing Hiashi. "I don't think you really need to understand this... but..." he turned over his shoulder. "I told you. I have my own view of your clan in this village. And I'm determined to see it happen. For Hinata, Neji, Hanabi and for myself" And for Konohamaru, he added in his mind. "I was intending to put this plan in motion after I became Hokage, but your beloved council didn't leave me a choice. So I won't give them a choice either."

"I still-"

"I visited you because you're the last member of the Hyuuga clan who I consider somewhat my ally" he looked up to the sky. "Hinata, Hanabi, Neji, you. Now I know all of your viewpoints, though I didn't talk directly with Hanabi. But I kinda know what she feels."

He remained silent for a moment, still hanging between the warm interior of the Hyuuga mansion and the chill evening air of the outside world.

On second thought... The outside seemed more warm than Hyuugas' coldness.

"I came here to make my resolve and I succeeded. I have one more thing to do, but after that I'll pay you another visit. If you want, tell your council that" he turned to Hiashi for the final time.

"I'll be coming for them."

And with that he was gone.

(* * *)

"Oh, hi Naruto!"

"Hey, Naruto-kuuuun!"

"Hello, Naruto-san."

The blond shinobi smiled with embarrassment when various members of hospital staff, sometimes complete strangers to him, greeted him enthusiastically.

Some were more enthusiastic than others. He noticed that the most enthusiastic were particularly young girls and most of them blushed when they saw him.

Who would have guessed?

He quickly made his way, intent on reaching his destination quickly. He moved automatically through corridors, immersed in his own thought.

Him being lost in his own thoughts was some explanation, when he, an experienced shinobi turned around a corner and bumped into someone.

Lame explanation, but explanation nonetheless.

Or so he has told himself.

"Ouch!"

"I'm really sorry, I should've been-"

"Naruto-niisan?"

Naruto blankly looked at the person.

"Konohamaru?"

A short silence ensued.

"Whatcha doing here?" they asked at the same time.

"Aah... Umm..." Konohamaru started hesitantly, his cheeks reddening. "I was just hanging around, for no reason..."

Naruto's face lit up with understanding. He looked around, to make sure that they were only people in the corridor and then spoke with a knowing smile.

"Ahh, I know! You wanted to see Hanabi, right?"

Naruto was wrong. Konohamaru's face wasn't red then. It was red now.

"W-w-wh-what are you saying?" he spurted, a little too fast. Okay, much too fast. "Why would I want to see her?"

Naruto just laughed.

"Konohamaru" he started. "You're a fine shinobi. A lot better than I was at your age... and I had a lot of handicaps. You're obviously smarter than me and you're quite adept and pranking and deception. But you can't lie to me about that. I know you too well. You've fallen hard for her right?"

"What? It's not like" he stopped when he noticed Naruto's don't-give-me-that-crap look. "Okay... but it's just a little crush..."

"Yeah, right" Naruto rolled his eyes. "Do you tell that everyone who asks?"

"Umm... yeah...?"

"I take back what I said... you're just as stupid as I was... No, you're even dumber..."

"No, I'm not!" Konohamaru shouted back, but noticed that Naruto's smile only grew wider. He decided to quickly change the topic.

"You didn't answer me. What're you doing here?"

"Actually, I kinda need to see Hanabi too" Naruto said before he could stop himself.

Shit, why did I say that, he thought. I need to watch my tongue or I'm going to spill out our entire village defenses to some low-rank diplomat in the future, Naruto thought.

Konohamaru looked seriously surprised.

"Whaaa? What do you mean you need to see her?" he asked. And then his eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you like her too."

"Whaaa?" Naruto almost shouted. "Don't be stupid. It's completely different and serious matter!"

"So why?"

Naruto hesitated, but then got closer and whispered something that even Konohamaru barely managed to catch.

"Are you serious?" the boy asked, when he understood the message. "Can you really do such a thing?"

"I don't know" Naruto answered truthfully. "In theory all it takes is some really talented person. I don't know if I know the proper person. But I had to at least try."

Konohamaru remained on the spot, shocked with this new information, especially since it offered a slim, but undeniable ray of hope.

"So... I'll be going then" Naruto told him and walked past Konohamaru. "Wish me luck and-"

Konohamaru mumbled something Naruto couldn't quite catch. Or at least he thought he hasn't.

"What was that?"

"Let me go with you" Konohamaru repeated much louder, confirming that Naruto, indeed, heard him correctly.

"What do you mean 'let me go with you'?" Naruto questioned. "This is no walk-in-the-park and it's not official, even I can really get into trouble."

"Please" Konohamaru told him with a voice Naruto hadn't heard him use for a very long time.

So he'd fallen for her that much. Poor boy... Heh, it was certainly good to be young and in love, Naruto thought. And sighed.

Once he became Hokage, he would definitely make today the official Sighing Day.

"Alright... You can go with me" Konohamaru perked at this. "But on two conditions."

"What are those?"

"First, I won't be able to fully protect you if some people get angry with us doing it..."

"Okay" Konohamaru answered immediately.

"And second" Naruto continued as if he didn't hear him speak. "You'll do me a little favor."

The boy nodded and Naruto felt a wave of relief wash over him.

It couldn't be helped at this point. Moreover, they needed someone for this favor.

And Konohamaru seemed just the right person for the task.

(* * *)

Hanabi was feeling bad.

Physically she was, more or less, fine, but her mind was messed up.

Like, really messed up.

She should've know from the beginning. How could she think she would be able to fool her teammates... let alone one of the most unorthodox and original ninja she knew...

Her thoughts wandered to Konohamaru, his face when he discovered her seal. There were some feelings flowing... no raging inside her, when he was looking at her. She could hide her emotions quite well (most of the time), but that's when she knew the particular emotion. But this back then was something different, something new... Something she was not used to.

The door to her hospital room opened and Hanabi quickly cast away any thoughts of her seal, Konohamaru or whatever.

Medically, she was completely fine. She felt fine, but Tsunade insisted she remained for a brief check-up. Hanabi was certain it was about her seal, but apparently it wasn't. She just waited, even though her mission "injuries" healed already.

That was when she tried to leave. And also that was when she discovered another level of Haruno Sakura's attitude concerning her patients. And Hanabi didn't really wanted to get to know the remaining levels.

So when the pink-haired medic entered the room, the Hyuuga heir... former heiress have done everything to be an obedient patient.

Now she will have to learn more about obedience anyway.

"So... how are you feeling?" Sakura asked.

"I feel fine, Haruno-san..." Hanabi answered once she sat up from her bed.

"Sakura will suffice" the girl answered without any air of threat, but Hanabi didn't want to risk angering her anyway.

"I feel fine... Sakura..." she said hesitantly, furrowing when the name sounded wierd on her tongue. Especially without the suffix.

She didn't know whether her hesitation went unnoticed by Sakura, but Sakura's hesitation certainly didn't go unnoticed by Hanabi.

"Here" Sakura seemed to finally make a decision when she put a glass of some nasty-looking beverage in Hanabi's hand.

"What's this?"

"Your medicine."

Hanabi would really like to ask what exactly it was and what it was for, but she, once again, decided not to argue with Tsunade's apprentice and gulped down the entire glass quickly, fearing that the medicine will taste as bad as it looked. She was wrong, though.

It tasted even worse.

She tried. Really tried. But she couldn't stop herself from commenting.

"Ughh!" she said, at the moment looking exactly like a spoiled brat. "What the hell is this medicine?"

"Some of it is my special cocktail designed for speeding up natural recuperation. But most of it is a medium-potent sleep inducing agent."

"What was the last paaaaa" Hanabi mumbled out before her eyes became foggy and she unceremoniously fell back on her pillow.

Sound asleep.

Sakura only sighed.

She didn't have problem with taking part in Naruto's plan. She would do pretty much anything for him and it actually took some convincing to ensure him that they should do it together.

But she still wasn't so sure about their chances and so she hesitated.

Well, no good crying over spilled milk. She'd just have to believe in him.

As usual.

(* * *)

"But Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said, almost shouted. "How can you leave such important issue with Naruto alone? Is this plan of his really so good? And what of Sakura?"

Tsunade remained silent for a moment, her head once again hidden beneath her hands.

"If Naruto is to become Hokage, he needs to be able to solve such issues, without violence if possible. No... I believe he's the only one capable of changing them without using force... Much force. And Sakura will be one of his closest advisors. If she's with him then it should be fine. That's our best shot... And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"You asked if I really believe in that plan of his. You seem to misunderstand something."

"?" Shizune only stared blankly at her master.

"I, for the life of me, couldn't figure out what his plan might be..."

(* * *)

It was late evening. Naruto and Sakura were walking throughout the empty streets of Konoha.

"I still think it's not a very good idea, walking like that in plain sight" Sakura commented, while looking around constantly. "I'd probably be better if we jumped through rooftops."

"I don't want her to wake up. And I have sennin mode, so I'll sense anyone close. There's nobody." Naruto answered. "Besides, I take responsibility if something happens. Chill out."

"Of course you are" Sakura told him, then she turned around. "Are you okay back there?"

"Yes" Konohamaru answered.

"If you're tired then I can-"

"C'mon, he's fine. Give him a break Sakura-chan..."

Sakura furrowed her brows and after a moment turned to face the road again. Konohamaru waited for a few more seconds and then he quickly looked down.

At the girl in his arms.

It was a very weird feeling. He was quite used to Hanabi being rowdy, relentless and unapproachable. Normally, it would be quite difficult to get close to her outside of battle. Yet here he was – holding her small form in his arms.

Konohamaru was once again reminded that Hanabi was a really petite girl. It was similar to the feeling he's got when he first met her. Only then he knew she could kick ass at a glance (he wasn't aware of full extent of her abilities though) and he wasn't in love with her.

But it still surprised him.

Her frame was really small and light. Her skin was a little pale, but smooth (or at least that's what it looked like, cause he didn't dare touch it) and her hair was as silky as he remembered, the locks flowing around her face mesmerized him once more. They were both chaotically spread and gracefully aligned, if that even made sense, shifting with every step he took – the little motions caught his attention every time without fail.

This actually made him chuckle quietly.

She was not doing anything, yet she still managed to draw his eyes.

Her expression at the moment was so calm and serene. Was she always making that expression when asleep? She looked innocent (that was probably half-true), at peace (probably not true) and defenseless (definitely not true!). She seemed almost fragile, like she could break if he tripped and dropped her. And he realized part of her really was.

It was strange, because he thought she was strong-willed, determined, always prepared and tough... just tough.

Yet, just like one couldn't train one's internal organs to face the Juuken, the same way Hanabi couldn't escape the fact that she was a teenage girl.

Strong, skilled and rebellious.

But still a teenage girl.

He winced when he thought that she might have been deprived from experiencing many aspects of daily life of a normal girl. Even shinobi girl.

And for some reason (okay, he knew for EXACTLY what reason) she felt right in his arms... like he was actually important to her... like he could protect her. Like she actually needed him.

Like he was a part of her life.

Well, she was already a part of his.

"How long with this potion of yours work?" Naruto asked, switching Konohamaru's attention from Hanabi and back to reality, probably saving him from tripping on something.

"Quite long. She should be awake by morning."

"Isn't that a bit too long?"

"I needed to assume that we won't be able to get her out of the hospital unnoticed before like 2 in the morning. We're actually a few hours ahead of the schedule, so it's fine."

"We have a schedule?" Naruto asked dumbly. Sakura only rolled her eyes.

And changed the topic.

"Let's assume for a moment that we'll get away with this and the plan goes smoothly" she said, once again snapping Konohamaru out of his reverie. "What is the plan anyway? I don't even know where we're going."

"It's simple" Naruto told her. "I want to do something about that cursed seal. Calling the Hyuugas to order will come later."

"Do you really believe we'll be somehow able to remove the seal?" Sakura asked, fully conscious that Konohamaru was hanging onto their every word. "Not even you can be that gullible!"

"We don't know until we try" Naruto replied. "But we probably won't be able to remove the seal. Not without risking harming Hanabi. The seal will be still active and will still be visible. But I hope we can at least reduce some of the effects."

"And how do you exactly plan on doing it?"

"It's obvious, right?" Naruto told her. "We just need to get some help from a fuinjutsu expert."

"Who do you mean?"

"Do you know any fuinjutsu experts in the village?"

"You can't mean Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted. "I know that he has great knowledge, but this isn't your common textbook seal! This is probably the most heavily guarded secret of the Hyuugas, next to Byakugan and Juuken themselves and..." she paused for a moment when she realized where they arrived at.

"This isn't Kakashi's place..."

"Yeah, it's mine."

Indeed, Konohamaru noticed that they arrived at Naruto's apartment. Sakura was surprised.

"How didn't I notice we were heading here?"

"Because I took some detours, so we don't meet with random people who wander around here at this time" Naruto explained. "And you're right. Kakashi-sensei has great knowledge of seals and sealing methods, but that's only for the seals he knows about" he paused for a moment. "In the case of the Hyuuga cursed seal he would probably be as powerless as we are."

"So who?" Sakura asked, slowly losing her patience, but then Naruto pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the door to his apartment, making her eyes widen.

"You can't be serious!"

"Why?" the Uzumaki asked and entered his apartment.

"Naruto" Sakura started, slowly, but decisively. "I know that you managed to seal and unseal what was his name again... Kurama..."

Naruto didn't stop her, busy with searching for what he needed. Where did he put it this time?

"And I know what crazy techniques you used against Kaguya. But you don't have this power anymore and you're not really an expert at fuinjutsu!"

Konohamaru had to agree with Sakura's point of view. However, Naruto only continued to rummage through his belongings.

"Do you really want to tell me" Sakura didn't yield. "That you have vast knowledge of the sealing techniques and the capability to study and understand unknown high-level seals? Can you really do such a thing?"

"No, I can't" Naruto replied and turned back to them, a big scroll in his hands.

"But Shukaku can."

**(* * *)**

**Enter the bijuu!**

**To tell you the truth, the last sentence in this chapter was in my head for months. Literally. And I have a few more yet to use.**

**So now... What will happen to Hanabi? What task will Naruto request of Konohamaru? And what will be the fate of the Hyuuga clan?**

**To find out read the next chapter of the Flowers of Trees!**

**And remember to drop me a review!**

**See you next time!**


	20. The decision

**Hello, everyone! I'm back.**

**I'll keep the author notes brief this time.**

**The number of views got high for a while and then returned to more "normal" values, so I reckon that it had something to do with the manga ending. On the other side, the number of reviews have dropped drastically... and I thought the last chapter was worth commenting. I don't know what to think of all this, but I'll keep posting chapters.**

**And I owe you a warning: a veeery long chapter ahead (frankly, I thought about splitting it in two, but I couldn't find a suitable place for a cut)!**

**Disclaimer: nope, nothing changed. I still don't own Naruto.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

When Hanabi came to, she immediately blinked in confusion as her vision smoothly switched from dark to almost blinding white. Just a moment ago she was back in the Hyuuga compound, receiving the judgement of the council. What did she do this time again? And there was her father, Hinata-oneesan and... Konohamaru? What in Hokage's name was he doing there? And she remembered... cousin Neji?

Impossible, she thought... Was that just a dream?

She blinked again and realized where the white color came from – she was looking at some ceiling. She wasn't in her room for sure. She looked around and confirmed the obvious.

She was in Konoha hospital.

Now she remembered. She was kept back by the Hokage and her pink-haired apprentice... But the next part of her memory was blank. She looked around, expecting to see Sakura or Shizune telling her to lie down and rest. Or at least to see her father.

But she was alone.

She tried to stand up, fearing that she was bed-ridden or something, but she was surprised when she had nearly no trouble moving her body. Actually, the only problem was that she was lying in bed for some time, so it was like waking up in the morning. Except she was not feeling drowsy as usual. In fact, she was feeling quite well-rested. She got up and carefully placed her legs on the floor, still expecting someone to barge through the door the moment she tried to move around.

But no one came.

She slowly headed towards the door and reached for the knob. Hesitantly, she turned it and the door opened slightly with a creak. At this point she already dismissed the funny feeling telling her she was doing something wrong.

And because of that she got careless.

For when she fully opened the door and was about to happily walk out of the room she came face to face with the person that was on her mind a lot lately.

Konohamaru.

"Huh..." he seemed as surprised to see her as she was surprised to see him. "You're awake?" and apparently in a mood for stupid questions.

"Can't you see?" she asked back and then furrowed her brows. Strange... why was she this mean to him? Maybe she should be a little more gentle. "Of course I'm up and-" she stopped and blinked, realizing something. "Wait a minute... how did you know I was in here and sleeping?" she asked him.

Konohamaru remained quiet for a moment, as if contemplating the correct answer.

"We're teammates, right?" he spoke finally. "Is it so strange to be informed of the state of each other?" he asked her back.

It was a little strange, indeed, but she didn't really heard that, more focused on the first part of his answer.

Teammates. They were teammates. Comrades.

They were not friends though, because Hanabi learned enough about friendship to know that was not the case. True, she could probably trust him with pretty much anything. Possibly more than they both understood... but she was certainly not a good friend for him. She was still blind to the things he knew by heart.

At least she could see that now. Funny though... when she had first met him, she thought he was below her... but apparently it was the other way around. Ugh, what was she thinking about?

She should just leave...

"Right..." she answered weakly and then attempted to go past him. "I should get going-" she stopped abruptly and turned around in disbelief when Konohamaru grabbed her wrist.

"What do you think-"

"Where are you going?" Konohamaru asked and before she could answer he added. "Oh, right... I forgot. That's not my business, was it?" strangely he wasn't looking peeved or anything.

Hanabi was flooded with a feeling of déjà vu which, coupled with the memories from her last mission, managed to confuse her. And the strange sensation of Konohamaru's hand on her skin wasn't helping.

"Let go of me!" she cried out, trying to sound confident, but her voice betrayed her increasing panic. It was happening again. These new situations and his closeness had this strange effect on her.

"No" he answered. She had to hand it to him – if he was agitated, he was hiding it pretty darn well. "We're comrades and-"

"Cut that crap" she told him, yanking her wrist from his grasp and watching his flabbergasted face. "Don't you see?" she half-asked, half-yelled. "I'm not.. We're not... I can't be part of your team anymore!"

"What are you talking about?"

She had enough of it and it wasn't like he hasn't seen it before, so she raised her hand, found her forehead protector and took it off in one swift motion.

"You saw it, right?" she asked with one of her hands limp at her side and the other pointing at her forehead. "You know what that means?"

"Hanabi" Konohamaru started, making a step in her direction.

"Or is it that nobody's told you about it?" she continued with an angry face, but the confident effect was ruined when she took a step backwards.

"Hanabi-"

"This means that my fate as a low-rank no-one is sealed and I-" she stopped when Konohamaru reached for her once more. She was prepared for this and moved immediately, hell-bent on showing him another demonstration of her close-combat skills.

Contrary to her previous assumptions her body must've still been weak or Konohamaru has gotten a lot better. Or she simply underestimated him. Because he anticipated her dodge and intercepted her attack, this time managing to grab both of her hands instead of one wrist.

It was a funny thing, the way her skin felt like burning under his touch, stopping her dead in her tracks better than many a genjutsu.

She quickly retaliated, but Konohamaru seemed a step ahead of her and in no time at all she found herself in his hold that seemed more like something from a wrestler repertoire than a ninja skill.

"Ugh" she winced, trying to break free. "What are you doing?" apparently it was her turn for stupid questions. "Let me go!"

"No until you look ahead."

"Ahead?" she repeated. "Why would I-"

Hanabi yanked one more time and then stopped resisting altogether. For a moment there was nothing but silence and then...

Clank.

Konohamaru let go of her and moved back. Hanabi slowly took a step forward. Her hand that was holding her forehead protector – the one currently lying on the floor completely forgotten – was slowly raising. She took another step closer to better see her own reflection in the hospital window. She watched her own eyes widening in disbelief, watched her own hand over and over touch and brush her forehead on the spot where her cursed seal was.

Or where it was supposed to be.

(* * *)

Hanabi was back sitting on her hospital bed, fiddling with the forehead protector in her hands. It seemed like she was doing it just to busy her hands, but in fact she was secretly using the shiny metal plate as a makeshift mirror, constantly checking if her cursed seal magically reappeared.

But it didn't.

"You know what..." she heard Konohamaru speak next to her and nodded absent-mindedly. "I like you better when you are like that."

"What do you mean?" she asked him, not really paying attention to realize how many ways his statement could be understood.

He grinned.

"When you smile like that."

"Whaaa" she snapped at him. "Me? smiling?"

"Yup" he told her back, proving that he was much more adept at smiling than her.

"I was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

"Was-"

"Alright, alright, you win..."

Konohamaru grinned again. "Here" he said and put something on the table beside her bed. A small can of juice. "I figured you'd be thirsty."

Hanabi looked at him. "That's for me?"

"Yeah..." he said slowly, as if not understanding. "You won't tell me that Hyuugas don't drink such lowly drinks like us commoners?"

"Don't be stupid" she told him and then grabbed the can, opened it and drank the contents in one go. Phew, only now she's realized how parched she was. "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me for that."

"Yeah, but I suppose I should thank someone for this" Hanabi pointed to her forehead. "So who I thank for that?"

Konohamaru looked at her. "Why do you ask me?"

"Why? Because its obvious that you know something about it."

He furrowed his brows, as if deciding whether to tell her or not.

"It's not like I know exactly how or what really happened. And you wouldn't believe me if I told you who did that."

"Try me."

Konohamaru sighed. He didn't have much choice. She had the right to know.

"It was a bijuu."

"What was that?" Hanabi asked him, certain that she misheard or misunderstood something.

"One of the tailed beasts?" Konohamaru explained. "Giant monster-like chakra beings?"

"Haha! Very funny" she told him, while narrowing her eyes. "Do you really think I'll believe that a bijuu entered Konoha in broad daylight and removed my cursed seal? As if!"

"It wasn't in broad daylight. And it wasn't in Konoha" Konohamaru admitted. "But it was a bijuu. I saw it."

"Outside of Konoha?" she asked him.

"Yeah, Naruto-niichan has this scroll-"

"What Naruto has to do with this?"

It might have been her imagination, but she thought she saw a shadow pass through Konohamaru's face, as if he was suddenly worried. Her train of thought was stopped by his answer.

"Naruto has contact and friendly relations with the bijuu. Obviously he was the only one who could ask them for such a favor."

"And the bijuus agreed? All of them?"

"No... we only needed one of them."

"We" Hanabi slowly repeated and then remained silent for a moment. Konohamaru prayed that she didn't push the issue and won't ask for something stupid.

Yeah... how naïve of him.

"Is there a way to get to them now?" she asked.

Konohamaru played dumb.

"Get to who?"

"To the bijuu!" she answered him. "Who else?"

Konohamaru's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.

"Are you crazy?!" he told her when he finally managed to speak.

"Being called crazy by you? That's like pot calling the kettle black" she answered. "I'll take that as a compliment" she added.

Konohamaru continued to look at her in disbelief.

"Let me get this straight" he started. "Do you really expect me to take you to the bijuu-"

"You CAN take me to them?" she asked, a new level of admiration for him stirring inside of her.

"-after you just woke up from your sleep?" Konohamaru finished while inwardly cursing himself and his big mouth. "What your father would say when he learns about this? He would kill me!"

"Don't worry. you can always tell him that I forced you, he would totally believe that" she told him. "And he doesn't need to know anything about this" she added.

That, however, did nothing to calm him.

"I really NEED to meet this bijuu and thank him. Or her" Hanabi told him.

"I still don't think that's a good idea" he objected.

"Please..." not good. She was clearly trying to manipulate and use him. He should just plainly refuse her. So why wasn't he doing that? He wasn't sure of that. But he was sure of two other things. One: he should really learn to tell her "no".

And two: he really wasn't able to do so.

(* * *)

"Okay, I admit it" Konohamaru turned to Hanabi, when he pulled out the familiar scroll. "Your eyes really come in handy. Like always."

She didn't react beyond a slight nod of her head. She wasn't about to say it out loud, but now that they've gotten – broken actually – into Naruto's apartment she was not so sure about that great idea of hers anymore. However, she said she would take the blame if something went wrong and she was about to keep her word.

Sigh... there goes her trying to maintain good relations with Naruto.

"So... not that I don't believe you" she started. "But are you sure you'll be able to use this scroll?"

"Yes, why?" Konohamaru replied, while spreading the scroll out on the floor.

"I just never thought of you as a specialist in high-class summoning ninjutsu" she said and then immediately bit her tongue. That sounded kinda offensive, didn't it?

"That's because I'm not" he responded not sounding even a tiny bit offended. Well, to tell the truth she wasn't really a summoning master herself either.

"So how..."

"It's simple" he stopped her. "This scroll is easy to use. Like really easy. Long story short, if we try to use it, we just need to get the permission from one of the bijuu."

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed, certain that he mistook something. He clearly had to.

"It's just as I said. Once we activate the scroll one of the bijuu will know about it" he explained. "If he or she allows us to go through, then the scroll will work. If not, then we stay here."

"And what makes you think the bijuu will let us through?"

Konohamaru just shrugged. "It's not like they haven't seen us before and I bet they're pretty lonely and bored, day-to-day just the nine of them, right?" he said. "Besides" he added when he saw that she was not convinced. "I don't really think that nine giant chakra beasts have anything to fear from two little mice... Because I'm sure that's what we must look to them."

Hanabi considered it for a moment.

"Very well then. Let's do it."

Konohamaru himself was still reluctant to enter the bijuus' domain the second time. In any usual situation he would at least try to reason more with Hanabi. But the situation was not usual. And there was the mission he was tasked with, so it couldn't be helped. He nodded and then finished revealing the contents of the scroll.

Truth be told, Hanabi has expected some very complicated sealing patterns in some forgotten language, but the summoning seal was extremely simple. The entire scroll was blank, except for the central part, where, inside a circle the size of a human hand, a single kanji character was written.

Home.

"Okay" Konohamaru kneeled in front of the scroll, while Hanabi was on the other side, her mind still contemplating the simple, yet elegant design of the scroll. "Now, we just have to put our hands like this" he said, while placing his palm on the kanji. Hanabi followed suit and put her hand of top of his.

Konohamaru knew she had to do that and maybe it was for that reason that he was incredibly conscious of their hands touching.

They were doing that a lot lately...

"Al-Alright" he said, clearing his throat. "I hope you're ready, cause-"

"Konohamaru..." she stopped him.

The boy in question raised his head to look at her, surprised by her serious, yet gentle voice, and saw that her eyes, those big lilac eyes, were intently focused on him, like he was the only being she cared about, like the apartment, scroll or the bijuus didn't exist at all. And he noticed that they were rather close, both of their heads several inches apart when they leaned over the scroll. He started to sweat when he realized it was a scary feeling.

Scary... and wonderful.

And then Hanabi smiled at him. Konohamaru's eyes were instantly drawn to her lips, watching them move as Hanabi uttered one more word.

"Thanks..."

He prayed to Kami that he wasn't blushing half as hard as he thought he was.

"No problem... I didn't do anything really."

"No, it's all thanks to you" she told him. "Actually, you could get in trouble because of me..."

"Don't mention it..." he said, turning his head a little to the side.

"No, I really should" she answered.

"No, you really don't."

"No, I'm really extra sure that I should."

"No, you... ugh" he said finally. "Could we just get it done?"

Hanabi grinned and nodded, feeling like she's won a verbal argument with him. Strange... it brought her much more satisfaction that she thought it would.

"Okay" she was brought back to reality when she saw the scroll start glowing eerily with a myriad of different colors. It would be a truly beautiful sight, were it not for the spooky shadows that were dancing on the walls all around them. She shook her head and strengthened her resolve. She had no time to admire the spectacle, the situation was serious, this could still go all kinds of wrong.

As if on cue, Konohamaru squeezed her hand a little.

"Here we go" she heard him speak, before her world, all she could see, hear, smell, touch or taste ceased to exist.

(* * *)

Compared to that fateful encounter when she was summoned right into enemy the hideout of the enemy, this time the feeling was very different. For a moment she could feel nothing and then she felt like she was flowing through water, barely aware of her hand still on top of Konohamaru's.

And then she heard a familiar poof sound and could feel the ground beneath her feet again. She stood up and had to wait a few seconds for the white smoke to disperse.

"Quite a sight, huh?" Konohamaru said.

She didn't have to ask what he meant.

They were currently standing on a small clearing placed in the middle of a forest. Some really weird forest, as instead of trees there were giant grass fields, mushrooms and other flower-like plants taller than the Hyuuga residence. The bizarre sight was accompanied by a variety of insects the size of an adult men, walking on the ground or flying through air with a deafening buzzing. The sight made Hanabi look around, expecting at least a dozen of Aburame's lurking around, but she saw none. Everything around, being it a plant or an animal, were displaying wide range of colors, both vivid and dull and most of them unnatural.

Long story short it was an interesting place. A little gross and weird. But interesting. They had no time to be sightseeing though.

"Since we're here" she told Konohamaru. "Then I guess one of the bijuu let us through. Now we need to look for them."

Konohamaru didn't answer, but she paid it no heed. "Funny, I expected them to be here on the spot... I don't understand-Yes?" she said when she realized Konohamaru was nervously tapping her on the shoulder. But he didn't stop. "What?" she asked exasperated. At this he grabbed her shoulders and turned her in place.

And then she saw what.

At first she thought that one of the giant plants was set on fire. Since the plants here sported the most bizarre colors she wasn't really surprised that the fire was a deep shade of blue. But then she realized that plant was definitely larger than the ones around it.

And it was not a plant.

A giant paw, made entirely of blue flames, emerged from the thicket and landed several meters in front of them – with enough force to make the ground shake – and then even larger cat-like muzzle leaned and stopped, hanging in the air similar distance from them as the paw, two differently colored eyes hanging close to them.

Far too close in Hanabi's opinion.

The fiery creature made a noise, a purr that – Hanabi realized – was the creature's equivalent of a "hmm".

"My, my... what we have here?" the creature spoke in a lilting and distinctly feminine voice, but the elegant effect was distorted, when it kicked a cloud of dust all around of them.

"He-hey!" Konohamaru greeted. It seemed that even he had some respect for this creature. Hanabi briefly wondered if it was the bijuu. What if it was just a native cat? Like a giant badass native cat?

And was if it was just about to eat them?

"Oi, oi, what's going on here?" another voice sounded, no... more like boomed, above them. Konohamaru and Hanabi turned around as on command.

And now they were facing another giant creature. Hanabi was sure that it was similar in size to the cat. Well, maybe the cat was a little smaller. This one, however, was not leaning and crouching as the cat. It was standing tall and proud. And only now did Hanabi realize how big the creature actually was... It was large enough to peek above the Hokage monument without much effort. The creature was not engulfed with bluish flames that switched at all times, but it was covered in a thick orange fur and looked a little silly with its long rabbit-like ears. And Hanabi minded to never say it aloud, because she now knew that it was indeed a bijuu, as she could see a number of tails dance in the air lazily behind the creature. And she didn't have to count them to know what bijuu it was.

It was the Kyuubi. The demon fox.

A quick glance told her that the other one was the Nibi. The question was were they friendly? Suddenly Hanabi wasn't so sure.

"Good morning to you too, Kurama" the cat-one said, while, Hanabi was sure, rolling its eyes.

"Hnn" the fox answered and then finally noticed the two humans beneath his feet. "Hoo... I see we have guests. Who could be brave enough to invade our realm?"

"What are you talking about?" the Nibi replied. "They were here before, I believe. They are-"

"The Sarutobi brat and the Hyuuga lass, I know" Kurama answered and leaned down, from close up he was much more terrifying than the cat. "What are you doing here little fellows? I doubt the Uzumaki brat has sent you to play with us?"

Hanabi was little peeved when the beast has called Naruto a brat, but Konohamaru interfered before she could say anything.

"He doesn't mean that. He's just making fun of us" he said and then spoke to the Kyuubi directly. "Umm... hello, umm... Kurama, was it... we're here to see Shukaku."

"Of course you are" Kurama laughed, sending tremors through the ground. "And knowing my luck, he's somewhere nearby" he looked around, then stopped and grinned.

In a very nasty way.

"I hate being right. Here he comes..."

When Hanabi saw the third bijuu she was sure – it wasn't really wise to come here. The newest creature was bulky and light gray in color, somewhere between a dog and a racoon... A tanuki maybe? It had a single tail – so the Ichibi – which made him a little weird for a bijuu. It body structure looked rather crude and its strange eyes spoke of madness rather than sanity.

The bijuu approached them and gazed from the Nibi to the Kyuubi, who was still smiling wickedly. Predictably, he didn't even notice the presence of two humans.

"Hello, fellow canines and felines" the newcomer greeted and continued without waiting for an answer. "Are we all having a meeting or something?" he once again looked from one bijuu to another. "Or am I interrupting your date?"

"Are you retarded?!" the Nibi roared, now the splitting image of an irritated cat, with her ears flat and all its fiery fur bristled.

"Hm... I reckoned it wasn't like that" the Ichibi turned to glance at Kyuubi. "I just didn't want to think of other reason that would make Mr. Rabbit here this happy."

"Who are you calling Mr. Rabbit, you sand bastard?" Kyuubi asked in more calm, but also much more threatening manner than the Nibi.

"Easy, easy now" the Nibi interjected. "Or maybe the two of you want me to call the others. Or Naruto."

This seemed to stop the other two from open confrontation although they continued to throw daggers at each other.

This was when Hanabi found her voice again.

"That..." she started "is Shukaku?"

Her voice wasn't really a whisper, but it was not loud either. And it was directed at Konohamaru. Despite all that, three bijuu heads turned to her as on command.

Ugh... bad move.

"Oi, oi" the Ichibi said in a voice that was somewhere between happy and deranged. "You didn't tell me we had guests and they're... Wait a moment... I know you" he paused for a few seconds, his already large eyes widening to the size of Hanabi's room. "Yes. You're those two kits from before!"

Hanabi didn't even feel the desire to complain about his language. Not at this point. She gulped, now more than understanding Konohamaru's nervousness.

"Excuse me for asking, are you the one called Shukaku by any chance?" she asked.

"Oh, where are our manners..." Nibi responded instead of the Ichibi, glancing at all present in turn. "Yes, he is indeed the Shukaku you were looking for, the one and only. And this irritating, grumpy sly pranskter of a fox is Kurama. And my name is Matatabi."

"Uhm... Pleased to make you acquaintance..." Hanabi said slowly and loudly, while bowing more deeply than usual.

"My, my... how well-behaved and well-mannered young girl" the one called Matatabi purred in satisfaction. "Unlike someone else I could mention..." she threw a sideway glance.

If Kurama and Shukaku heard Matatabi insult them, they didn't react at all, their gaze focused on the humans. Shukaku, in particular, suddenly seemed interested in Hanabi."

"Hey, your name was Hyuuga... Hanabi, right?" Hanabi blinked, shocked and honored that a bijuu knew her family name, much alone her given name.

"Yes...?"

"What are you doing here?" the bijuu asked, his voice with a hint of... worry? "Are there any problems with the seal?"

"Problems with the seal?" Hanabi asked surprised. "What seal? You removed it yourself."

"Removed?" Shukaku asked, straightening himself. "I did no such thing."

Hanabi opened her mouth, but no words came.

"I didn't really understand it myself" Konohamaru spoke. "But I told you that might not be exactly what happened."

"Hm..." Shukaku mused and then sighed, making the ground vibrate again. "I guess Naruto didn't explain anything about this to you, then, right?"

"No... No he didn't..." Hanabi responded and then turned to Konohamaru. "Was he supposed to?"

"I don't know..." Konohamaru answered her. "But he said he was pretty busy right now, so maybe he wanted to tell you later?" he finished, not sure why it came out as a question.

"Hm... so why did you come here?" Shukaku asked.

Konohamaru looked closer at the bijuu and confirmed the obvious – Matatabi and Kyuubi tried to feign disinterest, but he could see through it. They both pricked up their sensitive ears, in order to catch every word.

"Umm..." Hanabi started slowly. "Excuse me for asking, but before I answer, I would like to ask something. You said you didn't remove my seal. So what did you actually DO?"

Shukaku remained quiet for a moment.

"I don't like to brag..." he started.

"Except you do" Kurama interjected with a smile, but Matatabi silenced him with a glare. Hanabi had a feeling she has seen a similar situation before.

"...but I probably would be able to remove it" Shukaku continued. "However, this was too risky."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I am getting to that" the bijuu answered, visibly happy that someone wanted to talk with him about his sealing skills. "Your seal had three main effects. First, it seals your doujutsu when you die. Second, it allows brain damage when affected by particular chakra. And third, well... it obviously shows on your face. Not that I really understand why it is such a bad thing. I have seal marks over most of my body..."

Hanabi nodded. Up to this point everything, except the bijuu's penchant for seal tattoos, was understandable and correct.

"So..." she dared a guess. "You modified my seal to remove all of those?"

"No..." Shukaku answered. "Frankly, modifying a seal on a living creature is a delicate and hard work. So, I decided to use another method, instead."

"Another method?"

"Yeah, I've placed another seal on top of the old one" he explained.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah... It would be hard and suspicious if your seal just disappeared altogether, wouldn't it?" Hanabi hadn't though of that. "So, I made it so the new seal intercepts the effects of the original one. Right now, if everything went okay, your brain cells shouldn't be in any danger, even if your clansmen do that funny seal of theirs. Although you will still feel some pain when they do that. Probably. And I made the new seal also hide your old one, even if I don't get why."

Hanabi processed the information and then nodded.

"I understand. Then I will return to my original purpose here" she spoke and then bowed again. "Shukaku-sama" she continued, gaining the full attention of all present, human and bijuu alike. "I would like to express my utmost gratitude. I am in your debt. If cannot even fathom how could I repay this favor of yours" she finished and returned to her normal posture.

Silence ensued, one that made Hanabi even more nervous. Did she offend them or something? Shukaku and Matatabi seemed more or less speechless, while Kurama threw a quick glance at Konohamaru (who just shrugged) and then chuckled.

"Well, well" he spoke, while putting on his famous evil smile. "I'll be damned. I have now seen humans talking to bijuu, collaborating with them, trying to save them, treating them as equals... But a human bowing to a bijuu? That's a first!"

There was another pause and then Shukaku mumbled something Hanabi couldn't hear.

"Hahaha" Shukaku started to openly laugh at the sky, the sight was so weird that even the other bijuu turned to him in question. "Hahahahaha!"

"Have you finally gone insane?" Kurama asked, while looking at Shukaku with disgust.

"Unbelievable!" Shukaku yelled as if he didn't hear his fellow bijuu, comical tears threatening to well in his eyes. "I have never thought I would have to agree with the old fox here" he motioned to Kurama. "But he's right! A human bowing to bijuu! To live to see such a thing! I like you lassie!"

"Aah... thank you" Hanabi responded while laughing nervously. Conversations with bijuu were really life-altering events, Konohamaru concluded. To make Hanabi act so out of her character...

"There's no need for any thanks" Shukaku said when he composed himself. "Consider it simply as me repaying a part of my debt towards Naruto. That's all."

"So..." Hanabi said after a moment. "I guess that means we should get going, right?" she asked in the direction of Konohamaru.

The boy in question opened his mouth to answer, but he was beaten to it by Matatabi.

"But you just got here!" the cat bijuu spoke. "And I can count on the claws of one paw the number of humans who were lucky enough to see our home! This is your chance of a lifetime, especially since you should generally avoid coming here too often. How about some time for sightseeing?"

"Umm" Hanabi didn't really want to outstay their welcome, but now that her own purpose of coming here was resolved, she's grown more than a little curious of this strange place.

"We don't want to impose ourselves or anything..." she started.

"Nonsense!" Matatabi replied. "It's so refreshing to have such nice guests once in a while... and the others won't mind, right?" she added, glancing at Shukaku and Kurama.

"Yes, no problem" Shukaku answered in his high-pitched crazy voice.

"Hmpf... just don't disturb my afternoon nap" was all Kurama said.

"Alright, so it's decided" Matatabi concluded, smiling a smile that brought an image of a frisky playful kitten to Hanabi's mind. Some seventy-meters-tall overgrown fire-for-fur kitten...

"Well, if you insist" she answered.

Konohamaru watched the entire scene from the side, especially interested in that strange insistence of Matatabi. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than met the eye.

And he could bet he knew what it was.

(* * *)

The land serving as new home for bijuus was a really strange place, full of animals and plants that Hanabi saw for the first time in her life. But it was still beautiful. She and Konohamaru were now sitting atop of a cliff, covered in lush plant-life as everything else. From here they had a great view on the entire valley. The afternoon sun was partially hidden behind some faraway mountain ridge – one of the few places where bare rocks were bereft of life – adding to the mysterious and unique feel of the place. The mild breeze mixed with strong sunlight, making Hanabi want to stay here for a while. She should be going back to her home though... Maybe she'll stay for one more hour.

Or maybe two.

"You know what" Konohamaru spoke next to her. "Considering we regarded them as brutal monsters for a long time... they really kinda look like a bunch of harmless happy creatures... Well, maybe not exactly harmless..."

"I know what you mean" Hanabi answered, while observing the few bijuu that were currently in sight.

Kurama was true to his idea of an afternoon nap – snoring lightly as he was sprawled across the landscape, his paws and tails everywhere around him, a comical drool hanging from his mouth. Matatabi was basking in the sun at the feet of their cliff, purring and stretching herself once in a while. Shukaku was nowhere to be seen. And one more bijuu was swimming through a lake the size of half the Konoha. It was slowly gliding through water, true to the lazy afternoon policy that most if not all bijuu seemed to share. Hanabi didn't know that particular bijuu's name, but with her Byakugan she confirmed that it was the Sanbi.

"Uh-oh" Konohamaru mumbled suddenly. "Here it comes again."

Hanabi didn't need to ask him what he meant. They both quickly stood up and went for the nearest tree-like structure to grab on. No more than five seconds later a giant bug-like bijuu, the last one in sight, flew past them, buzzing like all the bees in the world put together. Hanabi braced herself and sure enough a miniature hurricane followed quickly, threatening to blow them both away. The bijuu took to the sky once more flapping its six wings with unbelievably speeds for its size.

"Ugh..." Konohamaru said when it was calm enough to speak. "That's the third time. I guess the bijuu are really bored here and they all have a twisted sense of humor" he plopped down on the grass. Or whatever grass-looking thing it was. "Still, that's not the way to treat guests."

"Says the incorrigible prankster" she teased. "It's no big deal though, considering that Shukaku helped me, let them have so fun."

"It was that important to you, huh?" Hanabi somehow understood that he wasn't laughing at her or insulting at her. Was he... teasing her? That was something she couldn't exactly ignore... or be offended at. How was she supposed to answer that?

Well, two people could play that game...

"Funny, I almost thought this was important to you as well."

"Aah... it was, you know... teammates and all" he replied hesitantly.

After then there was silence which Hanabi decided was an awkward one. Konohamaru continued to admire the view before them, though she could've sworn he didn't find it all that interesting. Hanabi used this moment to watch him. She was thankful for him helping her get here, it would probably be impossible without him anyway. But there was something more, something beyond a simple cooperation and help between comrades. Hanabi couldn't understand what it was or what had caused it, but she was perceptive enough to notice it – this strange inclination that was enticing her to observe him and get closer to him, like there were some other reason to thank him and keep him by her side. Reason she couldn't fathom or comprehend.

But it was there.

Now she realized that these kind of strange thoughts have happened quite a few times before. Ugh... get it together Hanabi!

"I think we should head back already" she told him.

"Yeah" Konohamaru started and then he caught on what she was saying. "Wait, what?"

"I need to go back" she told him patiently. "My father is probably worrying. Now that I think about it he could've already try to visit me in the hospital and found out that I was gone... I need to go back." she repeated.

"Let's just stay here some more" Konohamaru said. She would've simply overlooked it if it hadn't been for his voice. He sounded almost pleading. "Please" no... he WAS pleading. She found it strange. But whatever.

"You can stay here until the bijuu won't chase you out, but I'm going."

At this Konohamaru stood up before she could, suddenly looking nervous for some reason.

"You want to go alone?" he asked.

And then she understood... He didn't want her to go alone. Why was that? Could it be... wait a moment. He was resisting too much. Something was wrong here.

She narrowed her eyes. "And why wouldn't I go alone? Don't you want to stay here some more?"

From his reaction she could tell he didn't. And that was the last straw.

"Okay" she said in a serious tone. "What's going on here?"

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb" she replied, her voice raised. "You know exactly what I mean."

Konohamaru cursed inwardly. This dreamy landscape and just the two of them – not counting several bijuu – around. It almost felt like a date (or at least what Konohamaru thought dates should feel like)... No, from his point of view it WAS a date (even if Hanabi wasn't aware of that). That made him lower his guard. And now Hanabi knew something was up.

"I'll ask again" Hanabi continued, her gaze becoming sharper with every word. "What is your purpose for keeping me here?"

Konohamaru looked at her and then faltered. The game was up and he really had no reason to prolong it. It was going to end badly for him anyway...

"I'm sorry" he said slowly. "It's just... Naruto-niichan's asked me to do this."

Hanabi blinked. This was surprising.

"What does he have to do with any of thiiis?" she drawled, suddenly an idea sprouted in her mind. No... it couldn't be...

"It's not like I know everything..." Konohamaru started. "But I know Naruto-niisan had some issue with your clan from some years back. Something to do with one person from your clan who... died during the war."

"Neji..." Hanabi mumbled. This wasn't heading in a good direction.

"And I always thought that this was a political matter that Naruto wanted to do when he became Hokage... but he apparently decided to use more firm means... and to use them now" he stopped, because Hanabi visibly paled. "Are you alrigh-"

But Hanabi's face was already a feet away from his, her hands on his shoulders, shaking him vigorously. "Where is he now?"

"I-I don't know" Konohamaru answered with a stutter. "He's at your house probably. Listen you-"

Hanabi immediately turned to leave, but then stopped abruptly. "Wait a moment... how do we get out of here" she spoke to herself and then once more focused on shaking Konohamaru. "Tell me, how do I get out of here, this instant!"

"The b-bijuu, the on w-who let us through..." he started. "Can s-send us back."

"The one who let us through?" she repeated. "Which one is that?"

Konohamaru groaned. "The only one that was where we appeared obviously!"

"You mean" Hanabi's eyes widened and then she all but tossed Konohamaru to the side and approached the edge of the cliff, bringing her hands to her mouth.

"MATATABI!" she yelled as loud as she could.

A few seconds have passed. But no answer came.

"DON'T PRETEND YOU'RE SLEEPING!" Hanabi continued her yelling. "THERE'S NO WAY YOU COULDN'T HEAR THAT WHEN YOU WERE ABLE TO HEAR ME WHISPER BEFORE!"

Indeed, Matatabi could no longer pretend. Leisurely she stretched and then stood up.

"I liked you more when you were quiet and polite, you know" she started.

"I'm very sorry, but I have no time for this" Hanabi answered, using all the politeness she could muster in this situation. "My family is in danger!"

"In danger, huh? Are you sure?" the cat-like bijuu asked slowly. "Don't you think that maybe that's a good thing to happen?" that confirmed Konohamaru's suspicions – Naruto had tasked Matatabi the same mission he's got – to stall Hanabi as long as possible.

"What?!" Hanabi asked when she heard the bijuu's answer. "That's... that's... I don't have the time to discuss this! Take my back quickly!"

Matatabi did the bijuu equivalent of a sigh. "I guess it can't be helped" she crouched in a stance cats typically took moments before they were to pounce their prey.

"What are you-" but Hanabi's answer came before he finished her question, as the bijuu leaped in the air, jumping tens, no, hundreds of meters above the cliffs. Hanabi panicked for a moment, but then Matatabi landed some distance from them, creating tremors comparable to a small earthquake, almost managing to knock her and Konohamaru off their feet.

"What was that for?" she asked and raised her head... only to see a giant paw falling down on her.

There was no reason to hide it – Hanabi was pretty sure she was going to be killed. She even started to scream, but when the paw touched her it was actually gentle and in an instant Hanabi felt chakra flow into her... it was the first time she saw bijuu mold chakra and only now she realized how much chakra Matatabi could use. The amount that was poured into her exceeded many times over what she's ever seen... not even Naruto had this much chakra... it engulfed her in something like a shroud pressing on her from all direction, threatening to crush her. And then she heard a distinct poof.

And once more time there was darkness.

(* * *)

The bijuu's teleporting jutsu was much less pleasant than Naruto's, Hanabi concluded when she managed to stand up on her wobbly legs, coughing from the amount of dust that she somehow managed to produce when she landed. Or Naruto's apartment was just this dusty.

Ugh... what was she thinking about? There was no time!

She quickly ran out of Naruto's apartment, noting to herself to apologize for her burglary later, and then headed towards the Hyuuga compound.

During the entire trip an uneasy feeling was slowly clutching her heart. What exactly would Naruto do? And how would her clansmen (especially the council) react to any interference attempts? Stupid question! Of course there would be a fight! Hanabi shuddered when she remembered that another great clan of Konoha – the Uchiha's – were wiped out. That case was obscured and done without the approval of the Hokage, but it happened nonetheless. And Hanabi had no intent to become a second Uchiha Sasuke.

She turned a corner and realized that she was running through the streets out of the habit, without even thinking when she was going. She immediately jumped on the nearby house in order to employ the classic, but very useful roof jumping. It was then when she noticed something. The bijuu's home must be placed really far away, because when she left them it was still mid afternoon, but in Konoha there was already evening – the Hokage monument was shrouded in shadows, now much less noticeable with darkening skies serving as background. She increased her pace and no more than minute later she was at the main gate of the compound. And she already noticed that something was wrong.

The guards were missing.

Hanabi rushed to the entrance and reached for the knob. The door opened. She quickly, but carefully ventured through those so well-known corridors and managed to make two turns when she saw a lone staggering figure trying to lean against the wall and breathing heavily. She immediately recognized the man as one of the older members of her clan.

"Hanada-san!" she cried out and rushed to him. "What happened?" she asked.

This was bad. He looked hurt. Was she too late? What has happened? And what about her father? And Hinata-neesan?

"Hanada-san!" she tried one more time. "It's me, Hanabi! Where are you hurt?"

But the man moved suddenly and then stooped down and fallen to his knees. Hanabi kneeled next to him and held him by the shoulders. Was there nothing she could do? She continued to look for the injuries he received, but she failed to found any lethal ones.

Actually, she couldn't find any injuries at all.

"Oh, Kami" the man mumbled, his cheeks puffed out and then he put his hands on the floor, made some disgusted noise and then emptied the contents of his stomach on the floor.

"Ugh" he breathed out after a moment. "I'm sorry you had to see this, Hanabi" he told to her. "It seems after all these years my endurance is not what it once was... Ugh..."

Hanabi continued to look at the man as he stood up and composed himself. The smell was impossible to mistake for something else, but... it couldn't be that...

"Are you drunk?!" she asked with a yell, making the man wince.

"It's a normal for a man to drink from time to time, isn't it?" he asked. "Especially on such day as today..."

"What day?" Hanabi started, getting more experienced at the art of shaking people by their shoulders. "What happened today?"

"Ehh" he asked, looking definitely less than conscious. "You don't know? Aaahh... Now that I think about it I didn't see you even once during the celebration?"

"Celebration?" Hanabi asked. "What celebration?"

"Hanada-san" a new voice sounded, making Hanabi perk up. "Where did you go, making me look for you?" The new person turned the corner next to them and saw Hanabi practically tormenting her fellow clansman.

"Hanabi?"

"Oneesan?"

Hinata was wearing casual clothes, though they were in a slight disarray and her hair was the same. Both sisters remained silent for a moment, which Hanada exploited right away.

"Aah... heiress" he started. "I was going in the search for the bathroom as I said and I was doing fine when your younger sister came out of nowhere and-Aah, heiress!" he cried out weakly when Hinata grabbed Hanabi's hand and took her away.

"Hmpf!" he mumbled out when both girls disappeared. "No respect for your elders even inside your own clan. What strange times I've lived to see."

(* * *)

"Hinata-neesan?"

"Yes, Hanabi?"

"You're not surprised to see... umm..."

"That your cursed seal is invisible and inactive?"

"Umm" Hanabi faltered, hearing how well-informed was her sister. "Yes..."

"No, I'm not surprised."

Hanabi nodded and waited a few seconds before asking another question.

"What have happened here?"

Hinata turned and regarded her sister for a few moments.

"Considering what Konohamaru told you I thought you'd figure it out already..." she answered.

"What Konoh-How do you know what Konohamaru told me?" Hanabi responded.

"The bijuu contacted us when you left" Hinata answered. "While Matatabi was the one actively trying to stop you, it was Kurama who was mainly tasked with watching over you. And he did his job just fine – you didn't know he was expecting you and he didn't hold you back when he decided you could go back safely" Hanabi remembered the lazy bijuu snoring with no care in the world. Either it was a cheap lie... or the bijuu was really skilled at this."

"So..." Hinata stopped her train of thought. "what do you think happened?"

"Ermm" Hanabi hesitated for a moment. "Naruto organized a coup d'etat?"

"Yes and no" Hinata answered. "From your reaction it seems you've expected something like the Uchiha massacre."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Hanabi shouted, not noticing the smile on Hinata's lips. "What's happened then?"

"Just a moment" Hinata said and then they both entered a room from which, Hanabi just realized, loud and merry voices could be heard.

"Oi! Hinata-san!" one of the Hyuuga men from the branch families sitting around the table with a lot of alcohol on greeted them. "Where's Hanada? Don't tell me the old geezer puked his guts half-way, there. I bet that-" he noticed Hanabi. "Hey, Hanabi! Where've you been? Come on! Drink with us on this great day!"

Hinata was aghast. "She's still a minor!"

"But she's a shinobi, right?" the man retorted, obviously drunk enough to argue with the main family member and the heiress in one person.

Hinata only snorted in response and then motioned for Hanabi to follow her to the room at the back. Once they were seated Hanabi decided she needed some answers.

"So you were in collaboration with Konohamaru?" she asked.

"Me? No... But Naruto was. He probably wanted to keep you out of this."

"Why?"

"To protect you. What would've happened to our clan if something went wrong and both heiresses would die?"

"I'm no longer heiress and-"

"Let's leave that for now" Hinata interjected and then changed the topic slightly. "Don't be angry at Konohamaru. He was worried about you and just tried to help. I really glad you have such committed teammates."

"Still, he should've said something!"

"And what would you do then? Rush back as quickly as possible, right? Oh, and don't worry about leaving him alone with the bijuu. He's with Naruto right now. Just be sure to apologize and thank him next time."

"Worried?" Hanabi asked aghast. "Who said I was worried about him?"

Hinata only smiled a knowing smile that left Hanabi with a strange feeling that her sister knew something she didn't. Hanabi hated to know less than the others, so she decided it was her turn to change the topic to the original one.

"Can you tell me now what exactly have happened while I was gone?" she asked finally. "Please?"

"It's quite simple" Hinata answered. "Naruto got a little... peeved when he learnt about your predicament and concluded that something had to be done about our clan. I supported his view in general, but still... his actions were a little rough..."

"I still don't fully understand."

Hinata sighed.

"Long story short: Naruto has requested, in a quite blunt form if I might add, for the council to step down. The council wasn't too pleased to hear that."

"And he attacked the council?"

"Umm... no..." Hinata answered. "He... provoked them."

Hanabi tilted her head, not understanding. "How?"

"Trust me... Naruto can be really irritating when he wants to be..."

"You want to tell me that the council attacked Naruto?" Hinata nodded. "Using its private guards?" Hinata nodded again and Hanabi remained speechless for a moment. "That couldn't end well. Naruto would have destroyed the entire compound. And what happened to father?"

"Father, as the head of the clan, is currently solving the remaining issues... but I think it's safe to say that we have won."

"What do you mean 'we have won?'" Hanabi asked exasperated. "Was there a battle? Who have died?"

"No-one died" Hinata answered. "Though there was some damage... and as for the council guards... well most of them acted out of duty and didn't want to attack Naruto or anyone else... fortunately most of them were harmlessly put under genjutsu."

"The entire guard? How?"

"Let's just say Naruto has friends with high genjutsu skills that owe him some favours and-"

She stopped when the drunken voices outside the room suddenly went quiet and then returned... much less drunk. They both had a general idea what that meant and, sure enough, a few seconds later the door opened, revealing the current head of the Hyuuga clan.

At this moment Hanabi remembered that this she was technically missing two or three days and she had some explaining to do.

"Good evening father, I am very sorr-" she stopped abruptly when Hiashi kneeled in front of her and embraced her.

Huh?

"My beloved daughter I am so glad to see you unhurt" Hiashi said and then backed down, genuine tears on his face. "You're in even better condition than when I last saw you" he continued looking pointedly at her forehead. "So it's all true, this is truly a wonderful day!"

He embraced Hanabi one more time, but the girl in question remained motionless, her mind reeling.

Her father hugging her?

What the hell?

She turned to Hinata, expecting her to shout "Got you!" and dispel some kind of genjutsu, but her sister only smiled brightly. Such behavior was so low and undignified... but Hanabi found out that a smile on her own was slowly threatening to betray her.

"It's over!" Hiashi said after a moment.

"Father?" Hanabi asked surprised.

"Most of the old council has been removed from power and will face the village trial! We can now start anew! I need to thank Naruto for that later!"

"You already did that" Hinata reminded him. Her sister was seemingly undisturbed by Hiashi's sudden outburst of words and emotion, but for Hanabi it was surreal.

"Ehem... I think I'll need a drink" Hiashi said when he composed himself. "So I'll excuse myself and-yes Hinata?"

"I think there's one more thing to discuss right now" she said slowly. "The position of the head of the clan."

"What are you talking about?" Hanabi asked. "Now that we got rid of those idiots from the coun-"

"Hanabi..."

"-from the council..." Hanabi finished with emphasis. "...you can rule the clan without any interference."

"I meant that we should restart our competition for the position of the heiress..."

There was a silence for the moment and then Hanabi and Hiashi said "Whaaat?" at the same time.

"It's obvious" Hinata started. "That putting Hanabi on Ebisu's team bore fruit. I think Hanabi's understood several important things and now I would be more than happy to resume our competition."

"B-but I'm in a branch family now!"

"That's a minor formality. I'm sure we can figure it out somehow."

Hiashi sighed.

"Alright... you have the right to do that, if that's your wish. Well, I guess then we need to-"

"No."

Hinata and Hiashi both turned to Hanabi, certain that they heard wrong.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Hinata asked.

"Exactly what I said..." Hanabi answered, her voice surprisingly merry. "I refuse to be the part of this competition. You can be a clan leader on your own, oneesan."

Hinata and Hiashi exchanged a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, for the first time seeming worried. "You wanted to be the clan leader that badly before and-" he stopped when she heard Hinata make a weird sound.

A giggle.

They continued to watch Hanabi, who was trying everything in her might to stifle the laugh that was threatening to get out... and failing...

"Haha!" Hanabi burst out laughing. Her pearly laugh went on and on and would make even Shukaku proud. When she finally composed herself her drinking clansmen were already in the room, looking as confused as Hinata and Hiashi were.

"Wanted to be a clan leader?" Hanabi repeated and then another series of chuckles followed, he had already trouble suppressing the bubbly warm feeling that exploded in her chest. "Having clan head's responsibilities? Marrying politically? Being tied down?" she asked rhetorically. "Now that the council is no more, I no longer need the title of the heiress to be independent. So please, dear sister... be the clan head, for all means." she finished and then turned around, heading for the door.

When she was passing the dumbfounded men, she took a half-empty glass one of them was holding, gulped it down in one go and giggled again. And then remembered something.

"Oh and father" she looked over her shoulder. "You were right. I'm really glad you've put me on some common shinobi team" she turned back and continued walking forward, leaving the people behind speechless.

She remembered the feeling of being in her room, the feeling of relief and independence. Back then her room was her only bastion of freedom. But now she could feel the same feeling wherever she was with every step she took.

She couldn't help it anymore and again laughed out loud.

At last...

...she was free.

**(* * *)**

**So big developments again. This marks the end of the "cursed seal and Hyuuga clan" sub-arc... but our current arc is not over yet! There's one more chapter to go! I hope you'll wait for it.  
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** As you can see, I made my own story about the fate of the bijuus (the manga ending doesn't do them justice) among some other things. And Matatabi is obviously a pracitioner of the Gentle Paw **(Juunikukyuu)** style :).  
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**As always I encourage you to drop me a review (they proved to be quite motivating).**

**Stay tuned for future chapters... and now I go to get some sleep.  
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**Also, this chapter is brought to you by How to Train Your Dragon and Transformers.**

**See you next time!**


	21. Firework

**Hello, I'm back. We have several announcements, so I'll try to keep it short.**

**1. We have reached over 100 000 words...**

**2. ...and this chapter contains roughly 10% of that... I promised you one last chapter for the end of the arc and here it is. I hope you'll enjoy it, despite its length. Thus a warning: a VERY long chapter ahead (it was supposed to have 4000 words tops though).**

**3. We will probably switch to once-per-month update, especially since I need to figure the plot. Sorry.**

**4. You might have noticed that I was rewriting the previous chapters (almost all of them by now), fixing various errors (quite a lot of them in the recent chapters... I'm sorry for that).**

**Okay, let's get to it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the original Naruto, where Hanabi cuts her heir (looking strange, but positively tomboyish) only to let it grow and wear kimono with pink bows in her hair... But I own this story, where Hanabi is somewhat different.**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors... and there was a whole lot of them -.-']**

**(* * *)**

The morning April sun peeked into the room and Hanabi slowly woke up from her sleep. For a moment she was confused, trying to remember whether she was supposed to meet her team today or train with her father. Only a few seconds later she realized that today was quite different from her normal days. She slowly rose from her bed and headed for the bathroom.

Ten minutes later she emerged from her room already clean, clothed and determined to get something to eat. She walked through the empty corridors of the Hyuuga compound, still not accustomed to all the changes. Funny though... the moment one thing in her life got resolved, the others quickly took its place on her list of problems. She briefly recalled her last mission with her teammates that they completed yesterday...

(* * *)

Ebisu was currently reading a book, seemingly not noticing all the things happening around him. He even seemed ignorant of the object he used in lieu of a proper chair. After all, a cart that held enough gold to buy several villages shouldn't be something you just decided to seat on. It also seemed that the thug next to Ebisu had similar view on this topic, as he attempted to relieve Ebisu of his seat and his life.

Attempted being the keyword.

"Ugh!" was all the thug managed to say when he was promptly hit by something he couldn't even see, dropping to the ground unconscious.

"That was late" Ebisu commented.

"What are you talking about, sensei?" Konohamaru said, throwing a single shuriken at the next thug. His target dodged the attack by jumping to the side, conveniently getting in the way of Udon's leg. From what he could hear the kick was right on the mark and painful.

"The hero always arrives late!" the Sarutobi boy continued, making Ebisu stop reading and look at him for a moment.

"Whatever" the jounin said finally. "Just remember" he raised his voice so that the entire team could hear him. "If me or the cart get scratched or damaged in any way even once then you won't get any reward for this mission!"

Moegi and Udon both flinched at that, but Hanabi remained practically unaffected. It didn't really matter to her whether she got paid or not. However, she still indented to make every effort to do as their jounin leader requested. Partially, because she didn't want her teammates to suffer because of her. And because the point of this exercise was to test their teamwork under the pressure.

So far it looked well, their enemies were all low-level thugs and Hanabi has been keeping her (white) eye for any reinforcements. Of course, Ebisu tried to make the task more difficult by forbidding her from using her Juuken and Konohamaru from creating shadow clones. Thus, they used more basic techniques like regular clones, kawarimi and so on. And they were doing pretty well.

At least up till now.

"We have incomings!" Hanabi shouted.

"If it's just another bunch of small fries..." Moegi started.

"No!" the Hyuuga girl answered. "I sense chakra! They're shinobi!"

Ebisu turned and noticed the approaching enemies. Then he sighed and retrieved his own kunai.

"Okay, permission for all ninjutsu granted and I'll help you" he announced. "But the rest of the deal still holds! And remember – if you mess up then it's all Konohamaru's fault!"

"What?" the boy in question asked. "Why?"

"First rule of leadership: everything is your fault" Ebisu replied with a sneer.

Konohamaru just grunted. By this time they were already being surrounded by a dozen of additional enemies. From the look of things they couldn't be above genin level. And he couldn't see any forehead protectors. If they were truly shinobi, as Hanabi said, then they could be renegades.

Again.

"Okay, team!" he shouted to the others, while creating several shadow clones. "Let's do this!"

Moegi produced her summoning scrolls, Udon made some handseals and Hanabi got into her fighting stance.

One second later the battle started.

The enemies were not bad and some of them had quite the skill. And they had the advantage in numbers. They were organized and determined.

But they've got no chance.

Two of them attacked Moegi, thinking she would be an easy target. They were surprised when the girl summoned a rain of kunais at them, but thry managed to dodge it... only to notice the girl wasn't there anymore

"Hey!" they heard her voice from above. "Catch this!"

They raised their heads only to see a giant fuuma shuriken flying at them. They barely dodged in panic, but Moegi was waiting for that. In a blink of an eye she was between them, armed with a kusarigama. Moments later both men were defeated and Moegi rushed to meet her next targets.

Several shinobis tried to ignore the defenders and just get the cart. Udon noticed this.

"Oh no you don't" he said and, after confirming the positions of his teammates made a single handseal. Immediately a number of hidden explosive tags activated, creating several explosions around the cart. The shinobi put under Udon' genjutsu woke up due to the thundering sound, but was promptly sent into a tree.

"That's more like it" the boy said, seemingly not noticing a female shinobi appearing behind him.

"You littl-" was all the woman could say before being kicked and sent flying by Moegi, who landed back-to-back with Udon.

"Thank you" the boy said.

"No problem" was the answer.

In the meantime one of the last remaining enemies, no doubt the leader, Hanabi thought, was heading for the cart. And he seemed a lot more powerful. Probably a chuunin level. Hanabi quickly turned to intercept him. The enemy noticed this and threw a bunch of well-aimed shurikens at her, but she dodged nonetheless and continued to close on him. She expected him to be ready for her attack and she was right – the moment she tried to Juuken him he ducked expertly. That was a part of her plan. She didn't, however, plan for what came next.

Because when the man ducked he revealed Konohamaru approaching from the other direction.

Hanabi was, of course, able to see him from the beginning with her Byakugan. And this was part of the plan as well. So she looked at Konohamaru to silently communicate her intention. They were close. And Konohamaru looked back, his black eyes locking with her white ones.

Black and white. Yin and yang. When one fades away, the other appears. They were supposed to complete each other, but not to collide. If they did, something was bound to happen.

And it did.

The moment she looked into his eyes, Hanabi was immediately seized by some unknown feeling. She didn't know what it was, but in the midst of a battle, with her body pumping as much adrenaline as it could, it made her overreact. She froze on the spot and then attempted to step back. It was fine to keep distance from Konohamaru... but it left her defenseless against the enemy still between them.

"Watch out!" she heard Konohamaru shout. Only now she noticed that the enemy was rising and fast. She dodged by leaning back, but he was already making another strike with a kunai. With no place to dodge the sharp blade was getting dangerously close to her neck.

The hand with the knife stopped, however, when Konohamaru grasped enemy by his arm, pulling it towards himself, spinning the enemy in place.

"What the-" was all the guy said before Konohamaru's knee introduced itself to his stomach.

"Ugh!" and then a strike to the neck introduced him to the hard cold ground.

"Are you alright?" Konohamaru asked.

Hanabi raised her head to face him and blinked. Twice.

"Y-yeah" she answered. Did she... did she just stutter?

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know" without anything better to say she looked around and noticed that the fight was over and the cart was intact.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Konohamaru asked one more time.

"Yes" she told him with her normal voice. Almost. "Don't worry it was nothing... Oh... and thanks..." she added.

"No problem" he answered while scratching the back of his head. "That's my job, after all."

Before anything else could be said they heard Ebisu.

"Hey, everyone!" he shouted. "If you think I will carry this cart by myself then you have another thing coming."

Hanabi immediately turned on her heel and rushed to Ebisu, eager to help him as never before, leaving Konohamaru standing there confused.

(* * *)

"This mission sucks" Moegi commented and took a bite from her plate.

They were currently seating in of the lower-class restaurants, eating their equivalent of a dinner.

"Why?" Udon asked, genuinely interested. "Because we have to eat this?" he pointed to his own plate, clearly indicating that even regular bland shinobi rations were preferred to this.

"No" Moegi answered, eyeing him strangely. "I mean this was such a short mission. And it was easy. I mean, not piece of cake, but relatively easy for a B-rank."

"That's right" Ebisu interjected. "But notice that the intel we got was wrong and there wasn't even half as many enemies as we thought. While still a B-rank, it was definitely easy. But I don't see a problem here. Easy mission. Fine payment. I thought you would like that."

"That's not the problem" the girl replied. "The problem is that the mission lasted three hours, yet it took as three days to get here and it will take as another three friggin' days to get back to Konoha!"

Konohamaru only nodded. Moegi seemed like she planned to stop there, but the boy's silent agreement spurred her on.

"This is six days!" she continued. "In that much time we could do 2 or 3 such missions close to the village! Why do we have to go into foreign country, when the client is not affiliated with Konoha? Why they couldn't hire some other local shinobi to do this job?"

Ebisu sighed.

"That's irrelevant" he replied. "Client requested this, the Hokage agreed and we were chosen to complete this mission" he paused for a moment. "Normally, such easy missions are treated like vacation. Informally of course. But I doubt it's like this. Why Hokage would grant us vacation?" he asked rhetorically.

Though inside his head he knew exactly why Tsunade would do this...

Moegi already opened her mouth to speak, but Konohamaru beat it to her.

"Oh well. No use crying over spilt milk, right?" he started. "What's done is done, so instead of worrying about it, I say we enjoy our trip home! How about we visit some other villages along the way?"

Ebisu meant to say something about responsibility and keeping up their guards, but he changed his mind, sighing. Konohamaru took this as a silent permission.

"So it's decided then, right Hanabi?" he smiled and turned to the girl in question as if she alone could thwart his plans. Hanabi looked at him and then...

...she looked away with a quiet "Hmpf!"

And so during their return trip the Hyuuga girl would avoid him, looking the other way whenever he wanted to talk with her. And for the entire trip he tried to figure out what did he do to upset her.

(* * *)

Hanabi returned to the present, trying to figure out her current problem. It was difficult when the problem itself was so bizarre. As absurd as it sounded it was true.

She wasn't been able to look Konohamaru in the eye and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why... She knew that whenever she found him locking eyes with her she felt something. Something similar to nervousness and apprehension. But why? It wasn't that she was scared of him. Why would she? The mission had gone well and Konohamaru wasn't angry with her as far as she knew. What was this unsettling emotion? Or maybe she really was afraid of him? But, still that didn't make any sense... What was there to fear? It wasn't like she had some nasty secret she was trying to hide from him. Maybe... maybe she was just fed up with his obnoxious behavior and it was her way to show her contempt and disappointment with him? Yes, that was probably it. It made sense.

Totally...

She arrived at the kitchen, one of the smaller ones and not the one closest to her room. As expected, no-one was here, not even the servants. With this she should be able to eat at peace without any interrup-

"Oh, good morning, how fancy meeting you here!" a soft voice spoke behind her.

Hanabi suppressed a growl and turned around.

"Good morning, oneesan" she answered, torn between being polite and being annoyed.

"Are you hungry?" Hinata asked the obvious question and then continued before Hanabi could answer. "I was just about to make myself some breakfast. I can make something for you as well."

Hanabi was about to refuse, but then she thought over. She, a branch family member, would get a free breakfast from the clan heiress without her needing to lift a finger. That didn't sound too bad. Hanabi sighed theatrically.

"Well, if you insist I won't stop you" she said. At this Hinata turned to the countertop and Hanabi smiled a small victory smile. Unbeknownst to her Hinata did as well.

"So" she spoke after a moment, catching Hanabi off guard. "How are things with your team?"

"What-what do you mean?" she mumbled out ungracefully.

"Isn't it obvious? I mean the whole thing with the council" Hinata clarified. "I don't think your teammates would know what happened. Even Konohamaru wouldn't know everything."

"So?" Hanabi asked.

"So I think you're smart enough to tell them what have happened to you. They deserve to know that much."

Hanabi opened her mouth, not sure if she wanted to object, but she was stopped when Hinata placed a plate in front of her. Hanabi didn't think preparing such a breakfast in such a time was even possible. Hinata noticed this.

"Let's say that you telling me this is the price for the meal" her lips turned into a small, but devious smirk. Something in between her usual gentle smile and the one Yamanaka Ino would make when she heard some particularly juicy gossip.

Hanabi only groaned. But the breakfast did look good.

"What's there to tell" she started, grabbing a sandwich from the plate. "It seemed that Ebisu-sensei already told them of the seal and Konohamaru knew before" she paused to see Hinata's reaction, but the only thing she got was a short "go on".

"Then I gave them the general idea what Naruto-san has done. It's not like I was there, so even I don't know any details."

"You know that part is not that important" Hinata interrupted her. "What matters is the result. The consequences of it all."

Hanabi went silent, thinking about it. Her older sister was right. It was all about what happened after the council was brought down. About what was happening now.

In fact, the council wasn't exactly brought down, as it was difficult to manage a large clan like the Hyuuga, one main family and several branch families, without some kind of governing body. The clan's head was simply not enough. So the council didn't disappear, but was replaced with some younger members. Moreover, the original council consisted only of the main family members, while in the new one there were several branch family members. Actually, the main family didn't even have the majority. And the most important thing of all was that some of the old laws were cancelled and new were introduced. Thus, at least clan-wise, all was good with the world.

However, Udon was smart enough to ask such things, so Hinata's argument was invalid.

"Yeah" Hanabi answered, taking another sandwich, painfully aware that she was sharing it with her sister. "But I've told them that."

"And?" Hinata prodded. "What did they say?"

"Well..." Hanabi started. "They were not overjoyed that I tried to hide it from them, but once I explained things, they were actually sorry for me" then she remembered something. "I think Moegi almost cried. That girl is definitely too emotional."

"I see" Hinata said, placing two cups of tea next to the almost empty plate. Hanabi's hand shot in the direction of the cup, provoking another question from Hinata.

"So, your relations with your teammates are well? That's good."

It seemed more like a statement instead of a question and Hanabi mused whether she could confirm this. She was then reminded about her problem. It certainly affected her teamwork and Hanabi couldn't have any of that. Would Hinata know the answer? Well... it couldn't hurt to ask.

"Actually" she started, getting her sister's attention. "There's one thing that's not exactly good. And I don't know how to deal with it."

"Oh?"

"And I was wondering" Hanabi continued. "Whether you would be able to help me..."

As expected, Hinata was immediately interested and Hanabi briefly wondered whether this was a good idea... It better be worth her embarrassment.

"Well, I can't help if you don't tell me what the problem is."

"It's about Konohamaru" Hanabi said and immediately realized that was not exactly true. It was her that caused the problem, after all. "I mean... I don't know what is the reason, because nothing happened really, but..." she continued, trying to ignore the look Hinata was giving her. "But I can't look him in the eye."

Now that this was said out loud, Hanabi realized how pathetic it sounded. It was like saying that the academy boys were picking at her.

"And it's not... ugh..." she tried and failed to defend herself. "I don't know what happened. Whenever I face him I have this strange feeling of apprehension and I have to look away..."

"I see" Hinata said with an unreadable look on her face. "Isn't it because Konohamaru did something?"

"Like what?"

"You know" Hinata started, as if explaining something obvious to a five-year-old, making Hanabi feel like an idiot. "I have met Konohamaru before. The boy is overconfident, loud, irresponsible, a little dumb and, most important of all, perverted. With someone like him strange and embarrassing things are bound to happen. I'm sure you were just disappointed with him and that was just your way to show your ignorance and contempt."

During her rant Hinata had her eyes closed, so she couldn't see the look on Hanabi's face, obviously indicating that her younger sister was getting seriously pissed off.

"I don't think you should worry abo-"

"Are you stupid?" Hanabi interrupted her, standing up and almost knocking the cups from the table. "You don't know him at all! He's strong and responsible shinobi! I'm bet he'd a better leader than you are! True, he might be somewhat perverted, reckless and a little slow on the uptake, but he's also smart, creative and a good strategist! He's very dedicated to his friends and he may even wind up as Hokage one day" even though he may noy be very good one, Hanabi thought to herself.

"Anyways, Sarutobi Konohamaru is one of the finest, bravest and most handsome shinobi of his generation and..." Hanabi trailed off when she noticed the look on Hinata's face. She didn't like that look... and especially that knowing smile.

"I didn't say anything about him not being hansome, though" Hinata remarked. Hanabi froze on the spot, her mouth hanging comically open. She felt like an idiot and she could feel her face heat up instantly.

"But that only confirms my suspicions and I am happy for you!" the older Hyuuga remarked, a warm smile replacing her previous wicked one.

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked and then sat back, grabbing her cup. One more outburst like that, and Hanabi knew it was coming, and the perfectly good tea would go to waste. She had to drink it quickly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hinata asked, Hanabi didn't remember seeing her that happy.

"No, it isn't" she said back, quickly taking a sip of her tea.

"I mean that you're in love with him!"

Hanabi's plan on saving the tea from waste went to hell when she spilled the contents of her mouth onto the table.

"Umm..." Hinata started, a little worried. "Are you alright?"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FRIGGIN' MIND?" Hanabi shouted, a spitting image of how she used to act just a month ago.

"Huh, why?" Hinata mumbled, not understanding.

"Me?" Hanabi asked, furious. Hinata nodded. "In love?" Hinata nodded again. "With... Konohamaru?"

"Yes..." Hinata answered, wiping the tea from the table with a cloth.

"Why...?" Hanabi questioned, noticing the spill on her clothes. "Why would you think THAT?"

"It's not simple to explain" the older Hyuuga answered. "But I know it."

"No, you don't" the younger one answered. "I am NOT in love with anyone. Much less with Konohamaru!"

"Actually, this is good news!"

"Can't you hear what I'm saying?" Hanabi asked, now equally torn between angry and embarrassed. She knew, just KNEW that her face was aflame. "I. Am. Not!"

Hinata only giggled.

"Denial is the first and normal step in loving someone" Hinata answered her. "It's fine if you don't believe me. However, it would be better if you just accepted this. The sooner you figure out what to do with this the better. You can never know what can happen in the future."

"What to do with it?" Hanabi repeated as if that was all she heard. "There's only on thing to do! Ignore it!"

"Ingore it?" Hinata interrupted her. "So you admit that there is something to ignore, hmm?"

"That" Hanabi paused, for a moment completely out of words. "That's not the point! I don't need a boyfriend! I'm perfectly fine on my own!"

"Are you now?" Hinata asked. There was that giggling again. "Well, there's no rush. Just know that I'll be happy to help you when you come to terms with it and-"

But Hanabi had already grabbed the last sandwich, stood up and stormed out of the kitchen, intending to get outside of the hearing distance as soon as possible. She was practically gone when she heard her sister's voice once more.

"Oh, by the way... Are you going to the festival?"

"I..." Hanabi started. "I don't know" she replied and then disappeared, leaving Hinata alone with her thoughts.

So her sister reached that stage at last, Hinata thought and smiled. This'll be fun.

(* * *)

Hanabi was back in her room, already in fresh clothes, thinking intensely. Her sister was out of her mind, she's got to be... Her? In love with someone? It made no sense. She didn't need love. Duh, she didn't really know anything about man-and-woman kind of love, for Kami's sake! And the most important thing of all – it definitely wasn't the reason she wasn't able to go face-to-face with Konohamaru. She would know, wouldn't she? There's got to be another explanation. And then she thought about the other topic Hinata's touched upon.

The hanami matsuri – the festival of cherry blossoms. Hanabi has completely forgotten about it, she didn't realize it was that part of the year already.

Every year in April a festival was held in Konoha. The basic idea was the traditional admiration of blossoming sakura trees. But in Konoha such events were never a simple matter. The hanami festival was thus no longer a simple celebration, but had turned into a commercial and political event, coupled with a number of festivities that went well into the night. And year after year Hanabi had attended the festival with her family. Participating in such events was obvious when she was an heiress candidate, but not now. Now she could just stay at home and do something productive. Like train. But the problem was – should she? Hinata has asked her question for a reason. Now she had the right to choose her own fate, but making choices was more difficult than just being forced to go. Maybe she should participate anyway?

And there was another thing. Her teammates. They were sure to attend the festival with their families and Hanabi knew that they would tell her she needed to go and interact with them. For the sake of teamwork or something like that.

So she wanted to stay at home, but had two reasons saying that she should go. She sighed.

This was going to be a long day...

(* * *)

A few hours later Hanabi sighed again, the turn of events only confirming her suspicions. She was dressed in a light-violet kimono adorned with, you guessed it, pink sakura flowers pattern... It wasn't that she disliked sakura or the color violet (in fact, her favorite one). And she was quite used to formal clothing. Bah! She used to enjoying wearing it, even if it was somewhat uncomfortable. No, her mood had nothing to do with her clothes.

The sakura viewing in itself wasn't a problem either. That kind of beautiful sight happened once a year really, as was already established, Hanabi wasn't new to the concept of beauty, perfectly capable of admiring the delicate and short-lived flowers. In truth, that particular wonder of nature always managed to astound her – small, gentle, fleeting flowers and the hard, unyielding, rough bark. Those two worlds, so different, yet working in tandem with each other. Completing each other, as each needed the other to survive.

Hanabi shook her head. No, the sakura viewing wasn't so bad either. The problem was, obviously, her family...

Her clan of course reserved the best spot in the finest sakura garden. Not only that but they arrived with a palpable atmosphere of nobility and superiority. As If hanami was a chuunin exam where the clan and the village needed to show off their power. Hanabi could tolerate it for the sake of her being the clan head, but now it only made her sick. And the fact that her father and sister were doing it with hesitation didn't make it any better. Quite the opposite – it made the feeling even worse.

At this point Hanabi had already decided. At the first opportunity she would try (and succeed) to get away from this. She was certain that the company of her team, while not wonderful, would be better than a crowd of her clansmen.

Fortunately, the chance arrived soon – as the sun started to descend towards the horizon the general population of Konoha headed for the restaurants, stalls and booths, looking for the more mundane and (in Hanabi's opinion) crude sources of amusement.

But it was her chance nonetheless, thus she employed all her ninja talents to get away. Her clan's forte was observation and there were many of them here. Still, she was going to do it... calmly, coolly, entirely without incident.

"Imouto-_chan_..."

As if...

"Yes?" Hanabi turned back and noticed that Hinata was the only one who noticed (or cared). That was somewhat relieving.

"Where are you going?"

"Um..." she started, making excuses on the spot wasn't her strong point. "I think I should go home. I-I haven't been feeling well since this morning and..."

"Oh... is that so?" Hinata asked with her voice somewhere between worried and amused. "Then you shouldn't waste your times explaining yourself. Just go."

"Umm... yes..." Hanabi answered uncertainly and then started to walk away, not really sure how she managed to get off the hook this easil-

"Tell Konohamaru 'hi' from me!" Hinata called after her one more time.

Ugh... her sister was still going on about THAT? Or worse, maybe... maybe she thought that she was going to see him or something like that? Well... she kinda expected to see him, but not because she liked him or anything... Speaking of that, she should probably apologize to him and convince him that everything was fine. Then she'll just have to deal with the I-can't-look-you-in-the-eye issue and all will be as it should be again.

She sped up her steps, intending to get out before her sister, or any other clan member for that matter, managed to stop her again.

(* * *)

It were moments like these that made her truly appreciate the kekkei genkai she possessed. It allowed her to detect her teammates from the general mass of people, though it wasn't as easy as she expected it to be. Before she had found her teammates she's spotted a number of other people she was familiar with, including Inuzuka Kiba, jounin Genma and, she shuddered at the mere thought, Sai. She couldn't see the current or the wannabe Hokage, but she guessed they were outside of her range and participating in some political form of celebration or something like that.

Anyways, she finally managed to locate her current targets. She noticed Moegi and Udon, who were accompanied by some adults, their families she gathered. Konohamaru was present as well, but he was mostly alone. That's weird. She has expected a number of Sarutobi clansmen all around him. She furrowed her eyebrows, but then went back to her dilemma.

Who should she approach?

Moegi? If Hanabi was a common shinobi girl, then this would have been the best and the most obvious choice. However, Hanabi wasn't so eager to hang out with the orange-haired girl with her family and all those people around.

Her next choice would be Konohamaru – she knew him the best, even if she didn't share his cheerful behavior or ridiculous antics. The only problem was that Hanabi still wasn't ready to face him.

She sighed. So her only choice was Udon.

Hanabi headed in his direction, his location clearly showing in the vision of her Byakugan, but she quickly deactivated it when she noticed people looking strangely at her. Some children were even pointing fingers at her. She continued on her path and quickly arrived on the spot where Udon was. Or where he should be.

A quick glance confirmed that the boy had to move in some unspecified direction. Damn. But no matter, she will just use her Byakugan again. She activated it and... quickly turned around the moment she detected someone sneaking up at her from behind.

Well, at least she found Udon...

"Umm... hi?" the boy said hesitantly when it became obvious that his approach failed. He was wearing a green, yellow and plain yukata that, as strangely as it was, contemplated him well.

"Hey" she replied and deactivated her kekkei genkai, she had to hand it to him though – if it wasn't for her looking for him, then he would be able to surprise her in this crowd. Of course she wasn't going to tell him that. She briefly wondered what stealth the Sarutobi prankster was capable of when he really tried.

"Sorry about that" Udon said. "I just wanted to say hi, since I figured you'd be with your clan whole day."

"I could say the same thing about you – moments before you were with your family, why are you alone?"

"How do you know that?" he asked back.

"Well, I was looking for you."

"You?" Udon was really incapable of keeping quiet when it mattered. "Looking for me?"

"Yeah..." she answered, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Weren't you the ones who suggested that we should hang out as a team?"

"Yeah... But hanami is not the best occasion. Everyone is with their families. Well, there are some exceptions though. Like you."

"I just ditched them" Hanabi told him plainly. "Trust me, a week ago it would be impossible and I would spend the entire day with them."

"Funny thing... I expected you to like that..."

She threw him a glare. "Hmpf! Me taking part in it and me enjoying it are two different matters altogether!"

"So... you DO know how to have fun? Or would you rather go home and train?" Udon asked with a knowing smile.

Hanabi had to change the topic.

"You said there were some exceptions. And I have seen Konohamaru on his own. Did he escape from his clansmen too?"

At this Udon grimaced and then furrowed his brows.

"That is a more complicated matter..." he answered. "How much about Konohamaru's family do you know?"

Hanabi thought for a moment.

"Not much. I know his grandfather was the Third Hokage and Konohamaru... wanted to take his position for himself. And that the Sarutobis are quite renowned. Not much else."

Udon just sighed.

"Come with me for a moment."

(* * *)

"Where should I start..." Udon mused aloud when they were seated on a bench some distance from the crowd to the relief of Hanabi – loud conversations from all directions really weren't exactly her cup of tea.

"Beginning would be a good place" she told him, but Udon didn't answer. This was somewhat personal, Konohamaru should tell her himself... But he promised he would support him. It was worth a try.

"Maybe I will start the Sarutobis" he decided. "The first thing is that your view on the Sarutobi clan, or any other Konoha clan beside yourself is wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Your clan is based on powerful traits passed down on a genetic levels – kekkei genkais" Hanabi only nodded. That was obvious. "There are other clans like that in the shinobi world and in Konoha there were also the Uchiha."

"And the Senjuu" Hanabi reminded him.

"No" he told her flatly, making her blink.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean exactly what you need to understand. The Senjuu means 'thousand hands' emphasizing their many skills. They were not a clan of particular strategy or with a particular kekkei genkai. They were versatile. Universal. And that's the point. Most of the current clans are like that. Inuzukas, Akimichis, Aburames, Naras. They don't posses kekkei genkais, so they rely on passing their hidden techniques to their children. These techniques can, in theory, be learned by anyone, but only the clan future generations are taught them."

"Okaaay" Hanabi interrupted. "But what that has to do with Konohamaru?"

"The thing is, in such a system clans like that are not really clans, but rather a big families. And that's how the Sarutobis are. They have a lot closer bonds, based on the fact that the children have to be taught even where they are talented. The ability to learn is much more important than birth right and heritage. Because of that such clans have lives similar to common shinobi or civilians. There are no main and branch houses, since there is nothing to protect, some clans don't even have secret scrolls. The knowledge is passed by word of mouth."

"I still don't-"

"Have you ever met Konohamaru's father?" Udon asked. "Or mother?"

"Um...no?" why would she?

Udon sighed again.

"That's because he doesn't have them."

It took a moment for Hanabi to process this information.

"What?" she said finally.

"Yeah" Udon remarked. "His mother was a Sarutobi and died when he was very young. I don't know whether his father is alive, but he doesn't live with him for sure. He wasn't from the clan from what I know."

Hanabi continued to look at him as if what he said made no sense.

"Of course he wasn't left alone" he continued. "Konohamaru would spend a lot of time with his grandfather and with his uncle Asuma. There was also one more person of the family that took care of him. A distant relative. Konohamaru didn't really remember his parents, so it wasn't that much of a problem. He had someone to give him a roof above his head and feed him and then he was out of the house, probably pestering his grandfather. And the he met Naruto."

At this point Hanabi wasn't trying to stop him. Quite the opposite – she listened intently, merging the news he was giving her, connecting the dots with other bits of information she possessed.

"And then Konohamaru went to the academy. He met Moegi and me and thus had found his close ones. We were his family. The only one he's ever known."

This was when Hanabi realized something.

"Wait a moment. You mentioned the Third Hokage and one called Asuma. Sarutobi Asuma. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he..."

"Yes" Udon confirmed. "He's dead. Almost five years ago. And the Third Hokage died during Sound and Sand invasion staged by Orochimaru the Sannin."

He could see that Hanabi started to understand, but he needed to make sure.

"This was the first time he lost someone close to him. He was left with only us: Ebisu, Naruto, Moegi, me and his distinct relative... and now you" he added hesitantly. When he saw that Hanabi didn't object he continued. "Normally, he meets us everyday, but on days like this..." he paused for a moment. "Ebisu is on duty today, Naruto is boring himself to dead accompanying the Hokage and the Daimyou... and me and Moegi have to spend the time with our families. The only choice left for Konohamaru is either sign for duty as well or be alone."

"That's horrible!" Hanabi cried out, remembering the goofy toothy grin Konohamaru sported nearly all the time.

"I hear you" Udon agreed. "If only there was someone who could keep him company... wait a moment. You can!"

"Huh?" Hanabi asked, not following.

"You said you wanted to hang out with you team today? Then go hang out with Konohamaru!"

"What?" she asked, anger mixing with panic.

"That would be a great experience for you and Konohamaru would be less broody today. Of course assuming you're willing to help your teammate. And it's not like you're afraid of a simple E-rank mission, right?"

"Of course not!" Hanabi shouted, standing up. Udon was kind of envious of his best friend – Hanabi looked positively cute when she got angry in a kimono. If it was like that for him, then for Konohamaru it had to be...

Tch... lucky bastard.

"That task's a piece of cake for me!" the girl continued.

"So, will you do it?" Udon asked.

"Yes" Hanabi said back.

"Can you?"

"...I don't know" she answered after a moment. "But I'll try. See you later then" and with this she was gone, leaving Udon alone on the bench. Alone, yet smiling.

The reason he left his family was to go cheer Konohamaru up, since Moegi definitely wouldn't be able to get out of her mother's clutches. However, he had a feeling that Hanabi was much better suited for this task than him.

(* * *)

Konohamaru was wandering alone throughout the streets filled by crowds of people, feeling incredibly alone. It was a strange thing... those who were alone from the start would probably not feel much difference, but being left alone on a day like this was something much worse. It's no big deal to be alone in the desert.

Being alone when among others – that was the true loneliness...

He continued walking, eagerly searching for some familiar faces. Oh he saw some people he knew, but they were either busy or the ones he didn't want to hang with. He sighed. He should've gone for the guard duty, but Udon talked him out of it. His best friend promised he'd keep him company, but he was nowhere to be found. Hmpf, some friend he was! Konohamaru started to think over his choices. He guessed he should be able to find Moegi quite easily, but she was with her parents. Don't get him wrong – Moegi would be ecstatic to spend time with him and her parents would feel the same. And that was the problem. He could manage just the two of them (even though Moegi would mistake it for something more), but not her family. It was hard to give the girl false hope... and giving it to her parents would be just plain dangerous... Of course, he COULD persuade her parents to let her go with him, but that would be like outright claiming that they were dating. And he could have none of that.

It was all his fault. It wasn't as if Moegi was ugly or anything (she had bad temper though, but the same could be said about the great majority of the girls he knew). He just wasn't able to see Moegi as his girlfriend. It could be great for her and bearable for him for a while, but they'd both get hurt in the end. And he didn't want to hurt his friends. Udon was probably right, he should've talked with her... soon. No, Udon wasn't "probably" right, he was right for sure. Konohamaru should just face the truth – when it came to women he was somewhat of a chicken and it showed in relations with the other girl in his team – Hanabi.

That girl was hard to figure out without his heart skipping a beat whenever he looked at her. At this point he was seriously considering going on a date with some other girl, just to rid himself of this crush, which was no longer a crush... But he couldn't do that because of Moegi... unless he clears up the things with her first. This train of thought had a side-effect. Now instead of meeting someone, anyone, he wished he would find Hanabi. It was absurd though, she would be with her clan right now and why would she want to hang with him? Especially since she was so obviously angry with him for some reason.

However, a man should be careful what he wishes for. Konohamaru was reminded of it when he turned around a corner and walked into someone.

"Omph! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention" he mumbled, thinking that he knocked someone down, but to his surprise...

"Yeah, you tend to do that. You should really work on your attention span" the person answered, looking completely unaffected. Konohamaru's jaw dropped. Before him stood Hanabi.

Hyuuga Hanabi in a kimono...

Konohamaru didn't know whether she chose this particular kimono herself, but whoever did obviously knew how to accentuate parts that made woman a woman. In all womanly ways.

Konohamaru swallowed and mumbled out the first intelligent question that came to mind.

"Hanabi?"

Intelligent his ass...

"Yeah..." she answered, as if he asked a difficult and deep question. "That's me in person."

"What are you doing here?" Konohamaru attempted at correcting himself. "I mean... I expected you to be with your clan the whole day."

"Some time ago I would've been expected to really do that, but this stuff is so boring, you know. I don't really understand your idea of having fun" Hanabi gestured to all the people and stalls around them. "But I reckon it's all better than some stiff political meetings with false smiles and things like that."

Konohamaru was about to ask since when Hanabi had problem with stiff and formal meetings, but he bit his tongue on time. He also noticed something else. Hanabi was not looking at him directly, but she wasn't keeping her distance either.

"Umm..." he started. "Does that mean you're not angry with me anymore?"

He realized that this wasn't very specific, so he was opening his mouth to elaborate, but he saw recognition in Hanabi's eyes... followed by her cheeks tint with a faint shade of red which, coupled with her pale complexion, was quite visible.

"I-I was never angry with you..." Hanabi mumbled out. "It's ju-It was just that I felt a little embarrassed after you helped me with the bijuus and all" she remembered something her sister told her. "And I realized I haven't thanked you yet, so..." she bowed deeply. "Thank you!"

It was a lie of course – her having trouble being close to him had almost certainly nothing to do with them visiting the bijuus, even she knew that. But it had to do for now. Fortunately, the sight of her bowing in a formal kimono was all that Konohamaru needed.

"You don't need to thank me really" he replied flustered.

"So..." she spoke as if he didn't say anything. "Shall we get going?"

"Huh?"

"The festival I mean" Hanabi told him, while gesturing to the general festivities happening behind her back.

"Oh... yeah..." Konohamaru answered feebly. The way the situation unfolded... it looked like a date. It was a date.

Almost.

(* * *)

Hanabi was not a great conversationalist, what with her tendency to scream and look down on people. It was obvious that they would walk in silence and maybe it was better that way, because that way she couldn't offend him or embarrass herself further. Still, she was supposed to cheer him up and she kinda was treating it like a mission. It would be hard, but she had to at least try to start a conversation, no matter how hard it proved to be.

However, it wasn't as hard as she expected it to be and soon they were talking freely, topics ranging from his adventures with the Corps, Naruto or his grandfather, while she found herself telling him about her clan, her sister, her cousin and herself, even spilling some things she hadn't expected to tell Hinata, much alone him.

After a while Hanabi noticed something peculiar about their surroundings.

"Hm..." she mused. "Are you, like really famous or something like that?"

"Huh?" he asked back, confused. "No, not yet at least. Why?"

"Nothing... it's just that I have the feeling that people are looking at us" she replied, fully aware of what Hinata said in the morning. Of course Hinata was wrong... but what if those people around them misunderstood as well? "Maybe we're both kind of famous" she concluded in the end.

Konohamaru just smiled. "That's true, but I think the reason is now quite what you think."

"What do you mean?"

"It'll be easier to just show you. Can you activate your Byakugan for a moment."

She blinked at that, not understanding his intentions, but she did so anyway. Did he simply mean that she was a Hyuuga? How was that different from what she's said?

"Ok, now what?" she asked, her kekkei genkai on and working.

"Behind us, I think 8 o'clock that yellow building."

Hanabi focused on the said spot, briefly wondering how Konohamaru knew what was behind them. She didn't know what she expected, but a bunch of teenage boys were not what she had in mind. For a moment she tried to figure what was so special about the when she realized. They weren't special at all...

Because they were watching them as well... Now, that didn't solve anything, she still didn't understand why people... wait... They weren't looking at the two of them. They were looking at HER. Two of the boys were whispering to each other and snickered, the third one was eyeing her up and down and the last one was looking at her head and then his gaze wandered lower, lower... and lower still and-

Hanabi instantly spun around, turning to them, her angry scowl and activated Byakugan making for a dreadful combination. The boys reacted as quickly as she did – they were gone with the speed befitting of a shinobi.

"Do you get it now?" Konohamaru asked next to her. "They were checking you out" he finished without waiting for her reaction. Waiting wouldn't do him any good, as Hanabi was frozen on the spot, her eyes back to normal.

"You" she said after a moment, looking around. "Are you trying to say that all of those people are chec-checking me out? The women too?" she had difficulty getting the unfamiliar phrase past her lips, but Konohamaru was still surprised – he kind of expected her to not now what that meant.

He chuckled.

"No" he answered her. "But it's no wonder you attract attention. They see not only a Hyuuga daughter or talented shinobi. They just see a pretty girl."

"Pre-pretty?" she repeated with a shocked expression. This surprised him as well.

"Yeah" he answered. "Did you see yourself in a mirror? Heck! Half of Konoha' kunoichis would be probably envious of your beauty."

"What?" she asked, sounding a little dumb. "My beauty? Is this some kind of joke?"

Konohamaru was a little perplexed at this point. He didn't think ahead, because it was quite risky to openly compliment her like that, but it turned out that she really wasn't aware of her own charm.

"No" he answered. "Why would you think that? I bet you have your own personal fan club in the village. Especially in that kimono. Could you really blame those guys back there? They were just acting like any boy would. Heck! They could be your fans for what we know."

Hanabi was out of words. She had always known that she wasn't as beautiful as her older sister and that it didn't matter. Now both of those truth were put in jeopardy. Her brain experienced a violent overload, evident by a deep red color of her cheeks.

"Do you-I'm-I mean... are you thirsty?"

"Huh?" where did that came from? "Maybe a littl-" but before he finished Hanabi was already off, heading for a nearby stall with drinks. Konohamaru was left with nothing better to do than observe Hanabi's nimble form clad in a violet yukata, while scratching his head and thinking.

What the hell was going on? The suspicion that it was not Hanabi but Naruto transformed became stronger. But it couldn't be... Naruto-niichan should be currently trying to survive talking with the Daimyou. Moreover, how could he knew what happened on their last mission?

He was brought out of his reverie by some new voice. He turned to the side.

And cursed under his breath.

(* * *)

"Here you go" the nice old lady told Hanabi, handing her two cups of amezake (non-alcoholic of course).

"Thank you" the girl answered absent-mindedly, her thoughts focused on her and Konohamaru. She still could feel that her face was flushed. What the hell just happened? What was she thinking? No! What was HE thinking! Her being pretty? Having a fun club?

Ridiculous!

"Are you alright honey?" the woman asked, bringing her back to reality.

"Yeah" Hanabi answered. "I think so..."

"Maybe you should go back to your date?" the woman suggested.

"My... my date?" Hanabi asked, not understanding. Or maybe she understood too well.

"Your boyfriend back there" the woman clarified.

Hanabi's face just discovered brand new shade of red.

"He-he's not my boyfriend!"

"Well, If you let it keep up, then he'll never be" the woman said while pointing her finger at where Konohamaru was.

Hanabi had enough of it, she gave the woman a harsh "Goodbye" and then she turned around.

And froze on the spot.

Konohamaru was exactly where she left him. While previously he had this I-don't-know-what-to-think-of-this look on his face, now his entire form screamed "get me out of here!" And Hanabi saw why, as Konohamaru was trying to fend off a new person.

And the aggressor was a teenage girl who was talking vividly, rarely paying attention to what he said back. She was also deliberately ignoring his personal space, making every effort to get as close to him as possible.

Now, Hanabi's forte was taijutsu, "the skill of the body". Thus, she had trained her body for years in order to maximize her fighting capability. This meant that she knew her body and its reactions. Emotions were a little tricky, but when it came to body she was in control.

Or so she had thought, because the moment she saw the scene before her something inside of her stomach stirred, as if her insides came to life. She felt her stomach churn and twist as the new being raised its ugly head. It had to be ugly, because the moment the beast spotted Konohamaru and the girl it bared it's teeth, generating a killing intent that any chuunin would be proud of. This new entity demanded Hanabi to go there and bring things back to order.

And Hanabi complied.

"Geez, Mayami!" Konohamaru whined. "Give it a rest already!"

"Oh, don't be such a kid!" the girl called Mayami said while smiling sweetly. "You know what? Since were here alone why don't we go on a tour! It's the festival! We could-"

The girl stopped when she felt a terrible foreboding.

"Ekhem..."

Konohamaru and Mayami turned around only to see the source of the dreadful feeling. Hyuuga Hanabi, two cups in her hands, looking positively murderous, her face the impossible mix between threatening and cheerful. The three of them spoke at the same time.

"Who are you?"

"Hanabi, thanks Kami!"

"What's going on here?"

The three of them blinked in perfect harmony.

"Hanabi?" Mayami spoke after a moment of silence. "Hyuuga Hanabi? You're HER?"

"Who are you?" it was Hanabi's turn to ask that. She took a closer look at the girl. She had long blonde hair braided into two ponytails and was dressed in a pink and flashy kimono. Hanabi had to hand it to her – the girl maybe wasn't as stunning as, for example, the Yamanaka girl, but she was certainly pretty. But that alone meant nothing. Especially with that false smile which didn't quite reach her eyes as they were cold and trained on Hanabi.

"Ah" Konohamaru apparently didn't want to test whether the killing intent he felt was real. "This is indeed Hyuuga Hanabi, my new teammate I told you about before. And Hanabi, this is Sohai Mayami, my... umm... acquaintance from the academy.

"What do you mean ' acquaintance'?" the girl asked, latching herself onto his arm. "We're friends, right?" she asked cheerfully.

Konohamaru was opening his mouth to politely object, but he was beaten to it.

"Are you now?"

They both turned to Hanabi who asked that question, her eyes were focused on Mayami, her face speaking of nothing else but pity.

"Well, too bad for you" she started, her tone of voice clearly reminding Konohamaru of a spoiled brat with a nose held high that Hanabi once was. And he never thought he would be happy to heard her speak like that again. "Me and Konohamaru were just enjoying the festival. I would appreciate it if you left us alone. Here" she handed Konohamaru his amezake.

The boy took it, his eyes darting between Mayami, and unreadable look on her face and Hanabi, who acted as if the former has already left.

"Yeah" he said slowly. "I think we should be going... Umm... see you later Maya-"

"Are you his girlfriend?"

Konohamaru was glad he wasn't drinking at the moment, because he was bound to get one of the girls... soggy. But despite that, it was a really bad question and he found himself unable to decide whether he should openly deny it or just shut up or leave it to Hanabi, but he decided that the first was probably safer. The idea of bloodshed really didn't sit well with him.

"No, of course not, what made you think that?" Konohamaru laughed nervously and cast a glance at Hanabi, who looked as calm as the day he had met her.

The problem was he remembered that she was only looking calm back then.

"Of course not" Mayami repeated. "What I was thinking? It's obvious Konohamaru wouldn't go out with-"

"You're glad" Hanabi interjected.

"What?" the girl asked, but Hanabi continued without any care in the world.

"I'm afraid that Konohamaru himself will choose who he would want to date. Is that a problem?"

At this point Mayami didn't even try to hide her fury, openly glaring at the Hyuuga girl. Hanabi was somewhat pleased with herself. Granted, leaving things like shinobi skills and the social standing aside, the two of them were similar girls and Mayami had no reason to fear her. However, Hanabi knew how to piss people off. After all, it took great training to be able to knock off-balance someone as calm and caring as her older sister. All the trying was paying off at last! And the girl should really just leave. Didn't she see? Hanabi was not acting like that out of her free will. She was just doing what the ugly beast in her stomach commanded and it would be better for this menace of a girl if she left before the beast lost its patience and took the matter in its own claws.

"Hey!" Konohamaru shouted, making people, at least the half that wasn't yet looking at them, turn their heads in their direction. "It's Udon! I think I see Udon there" he waved his hand to someone. "I'm sorry Mayami, but we need to go. Teammates stuff, you get it right?"

"Yeah, of course" the girl answered, her fists clenching involuntarily.

Ten seconds later Konohamaru and Hanabi were already walking. Alone once again.

"Phew!" Konohamaru sighed. That was close.

"I don't see him" Hanabi spoke.

"Huh?"

"Udon. You said you saw him."

"Ahh... that" Konohamaru looked embarrassed. "I didn't, I just wanted to get Mayami off our backs" he explained. "I'm sorry for lying."

"Don't be stupid" she told him, making him look at her and quirking his eyebrow. "Deception is a common tool for shinobi and she had no choice but to fall for it. Tell me, were there many girls like her in the academy?"

"Well, no... at least not at the time... Mayami was pretty much ugh... normal back then. But now she's like that. And she's not the only one."

"I think she's perfectly normal" she told him.

"Yes... wait-what?" he asked dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"

Hanabi was in a surprisingly good mood. Now that the beast in her stomach seemed to settle down, satisfied, the Hyuuga girl felt some lightness in her body. If she were some common girl she would probably bounce with each step. And now she was in a mood to tease Konohamaru a bit. It was time for revenge.

"I mean that you're quite popular with the girls yourself."

He looked at her for a moment as if she was speaking english or some equally foreign language.

"Don't be stupid. As if" he told her.

"Then, do you mind me using my Byakugan and counting how many girls are spying on your right now?"

"Um... no... thank you... honest!" he replied and turned away from her, embarrassed.

Hanabi only smiled. This festival thing proved more interesting than she thought.

(* * *)

"Hey it's a goldfish scooping!" Konohamaru said, pointing to one particular stand with a lot of people.

"Yes, and?" she asked.

"Do you need to ask? Let's try it!"

"Huh?" she replied, not too keen on the idea of participating in such games. She didn't know what common people saw in them, but it didn't suit her at all.

"Oh, c'mon, let's go" he said and before she could object, he had grabbed her hand and started walking.

Her first reflex was to slap his hand away, both because of his nerve and because the feeling of her hand in him felt strange. But the new inhabitant of her stomach rumbled a warning, making her go along with it. Immediately the rumble turned in a purr.

"Ojisan" Konohamaru said, when they were at the stall. "Two scoopers, please!"

Hanabi quickly realized that goldfish scooping was something she was not good at. When her fourth scooper tore and Konohamaru started to laugh she truly expected herself to get angry and throw the stupid tool at the ground. Except nothing like that happened. It probably had something to do with the way he laughed. It was warm and merry. And it even made her smile once as well.

After that they have tried cork shooting, ring throwing and the lottery. She has won one ridiculous-looking toy (as a side note, she didn't understand why she wasn't able to get them all) and Konohamaru won three and then gave all of them to her. She accepted, inwardly praying that no-one she knew noticed her walking with a bag full of soft toys.

Then Konohamaru insisted on buying her cotton candy for her buying him amezake. And it tasted better than she remembered it. Then she talked him into buying an oni mask.

And the strangest thing of all – she noticed that she started to enjoy herself. And that it started some time ago.

Moreover, she once again noticed that strange force that tried to get her closer to him, and she had a feeling that it has something to do with the being in her stomach. The said being was now quiet, as if it was pleased with Hanabi's behavior.

They continued to wander through the crowds without any set destination in mind. Konohamaru was now apparently in a good mood and started to tell jokes and his famous pranks. Hanabi laughed or at least smiled at all of them, though she would be forever embarrassed if anybody found out.

"Hey, it's the hanabi show!" Konohamaru told her at one point and then pointed at some place in the distance. Hanabi immediately realized that he meant the fireworks show. It made her think of her own name. Hanabi. Hana hi. The fiery flower. That was stupid. What kinda flower bursts into flames...? Except the actual fireworks... But she wasn't like that – exploding violently, disturbing everyone around her. She wasn't disturbing him, right?

Right?

"How about we go take a look?" he asked and when he didn't hear her answer he turned to look at her. "Hanabi?"

"Yes" she told him. "Let's go" and she jumped into the air, chosing the traditional ninja way to travel. Konohamaru looked after her, then chuckled and started following her.

(* * *)

The building was well suited to be an observation spot, it had a large terrace that granted perfect view on the Hokage monument and was nicely complemented by a number of sakura trees in full bloom. The terrace was quickly filling with people, shinobi and civilians alike. Hanabi and Konohamaru were not on the terrace, but on the roof above, completely empty except for the two of them. They were seated and patiently waiting for the show to start.

At least Konohamaru was, because Hanabi was fidgeting constantly and gazing at him every now and then. She felt strangely disturbed now that he didn't look or talk with her. She was just about to speak, when he beat her to it.

"Here it goes!"

Hanabi looked forward just in time to notice the first custom-made explosive tag launch into the air and explode into thousand yellows sparks a few seconds after, earning a collective gasp from the viewers on the terrace.

"Beautiful" Konohamaru said as he observed a series of fireworks light the sky next to the first one.

Hanabi was observing the show with difficulty, because half of her brain was working full-time, thoughts seemed to appear faster than the fireworks, chasing each other.

Konohamaru thought fireworks were beautiful and she realized the obvious thing. Fireworks didn't disturb people. They were admired by them for their beauty. And Konohamaru called her pretty before. So maybe she was really a firework – as violent and beautiful as the ones exploding in the skies above them. Well, that was only what Konohamaru thought, though.

Konohamaru...

As if on command, her brain started a show on its own. A slide show. Each time a firework exploded the slide in her head changed, showing another scene from her past.

Konohamaru introducing himself. Konohamaru standing up to Naruto.

New Konohamaru corps preparing their plan. Their hands on top of each other.

Him watching her at the ruins and then rushing after her to back her up. Them screaming at each other.

Him finding her at the forest. Him saving her by sweeping her of her feet. Twice. Her helping him cope with the darkness.

Him intruding on her bath. Him punishing Izakoza.

Him discovering her cursed seal. His reflection in the hospital window next to her own.

Both of them leaning over the scroll in Naruto's apartment.

Both of them enjoying their stay amongst the bijuus.

Her freezing and looking away when their eyes met.

She turned her head to look at Konohamaru, who was watching the show intently. It was a strange thing. She was a firework, the same as the ones above them... so why was he watching them instead of her?

Now, Hanabi had several reason in her life to be envious. Most of them had to do with her sister. Now she had that feeling again, only this time it was directed at the fireworks. That thought was stupid. Fireworks were inanimate objects and shows like this one happened once per few months. And they lasted 10 minutes tops. In short, there was no reason a noble girl like her would be jealous of them.

Yet she was. She wanted nothing more, but to stand up, stand between Konohamaru and the pretty lights and see him smile at her, yet she remained still.

The fireworks were now launching with staggering speeds and Hanabi's mind started to race as well.

Thoughts were popping one after another and all of Hanabi's abilities and discipline weren't enough to sweep them all under the rug. Despite her inexperience and lack of knowledge she managed to see it. Not the whole picture, but the ray of light cast by the slightly ajar door of truth. She glimpsed enough to connect all the important dots and judge the situation at hand.

While she was watching the boy next to her, the magnificent spectacle high above their heads was reaching its end.

The last firework shot to the sky with a hiss, quieting down before ending its life in a booming explosion, sending sparks and petals of fire everywhere, truly a "hanabi" – a "fiery flower" – its beauty clearly reflecting in Konohamaru's eyes. The death of the final firework was followed by a thunderous applause from the terrace below. And then Konohamaru finally turned to look at her.

"Well, that was quite the sight, wasn't it?" he told her, giving her his full attention, watching her with the same expression he used to admire the show.

And then he smiled.

It hit her like a ton of bricks. In this one short moment she knew that something in her changed before it happened.

The sound of the last explosion passed and the sparks in the sky died down among the clouds of smoke. The clapping followed suit accompanied by last one shout from the crowd, shaking her out of whatever spell she was under. Then their eyes met. And she sighed.

The moment has ended.

And she was in love.

**(* * *)**

**Ta-da! After roughly forever we have officially started the more romantic part of the story (no I don't plan it to have 20 chapters, no worries).**

**I hope you are all satisfied with the turn of events, if you are then drop me a review.**

**P.S. Today's references are brought to you by "A Bug's Life" and "Equilibrium". One has even two references.**


	22. Crossing the bridge

**Hello everyone, I'm back at last!**

**I've quite a few things to say, so let's get to it.**

**First, I am very thankful for all your reviews, favorites and follows. At the same time I'm sorry that I didn't answer to them, which is primarily caused by two things: 1) many reviews are posted as guests, especially in the case of the last chapter, 2) I prefer to answer them collectively and publicly, because it's easier that way and its kinda in my personality (if that makes sense).**

**Second, connected with the first, I am very sorry for not posting this chapter sooner, but there is no other way I'm afraid – I need these 2 or 3 weeks to proceed with my life between writing chapters. I don't get how people manage to write good-sized good-quality chapters every other day... Perhaps something to do with English being their native language... or having much more free time on their hands... or just better at writing stuff. Long story short – the update frequency will most likely stay as it is, especially with me trying to figure out where to go with this story. Sorry...**

**Oh... I also noticed that despite my tightened security measures the last chapter still contained impossibly high number of typos and such. I am very ashamed of myself, I don't know how did that happen. Thus, I am posting this chapter after even more tight grammar check.**

**Next thing – do you remember those times when life was easy and chapters were below 4000 words? Well, those times seem a thing of the past – this chapter is another one of those "some 9000 words" kind of chapter. I just hope you'll like it.**

**Also the timeline in this chapter is a bit tricky as events unfold over the course of 3 or even 4 days. And those events may or may not be presented in chronological order :)**

**This chapter is pretty much Hanabi-centered, even more than the previous ones. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but Hanabi's confusion, denial and transformation is just the primary focus of the story, so you can expect to continue experiencing it mainly from her point of view.**

**Okay, let's put this this show on the road!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but that's not a big deal... I also seemingly do not own enough time to have things done... and that can get tricky...**

**[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors]**

**(* * *)**

The girl smiled brightly, brushing a few locks of her long brown and silky hair out of her face, yet they stubbornly continued to fall into her face. She seemed not to notice this though, as her attention was focused on the person standing before her. The boy's hair was also brown, but short and spiky, even before the boy ruffled it with his hand while laughing. The presence of the girl this close to him made him both nervous and happy, clearly indicating that he liked her. The girl must've liked him as well. It was visible through her body language, the way she kept touching her hair, gazing at the boy and blushing slightly – signals that didn't go unnoticed by her companion. Both teenagers seemed engaged in a lively conversation, the girl giggling every now and then and the boy slowly becoming bolder. He leaned closer to the girl, whispering something in her ear. Whatever it was, it made the girl blush even more. The boy then smirked and leaned in even closer, stepping well into the girl's personal space. She leaned back a little, as if rejecting him, but the soft smile on her face was telling a different story. Besides, even if she truly wanted to move back she wouldn't be able to with the building wall right behind her. No, instead of stepping back, she remained on the spot, while the boy leaned closer and closer. They were now close enough that their hair touched, two shades of brown strands tickling at each other. However, the teens couldn't see this: their eyes were closed, their faces inching closer. The boy tilted his head to the side. The girl parted her lips ever so slightly. And then...

Hanabi suddenly stepped back, breathing hard and trying to slow down her heart rate to healthy levels.

It was a little cloudy, but warm afternoon, two days after the hanami festival and Hanabi was currently sitting on a roof of one of Konoha buildings. She stayed still for a moment recalling the events of the previous few days that led to her current situation.

(* * *)

The day after the festival was a calm one, most of the Konoha population decided to stay at homes, probably sleeping off the festivities of the previous day. And no wonder – there were so many activities in the festival and they lasted well into the night...

As for Hanabi herself, she spent a lot more time enjoying the festival with Konohamaru than she originally planned, almost till midnight in fact. Of course she knew that she was with him for a few hours already and that she should be back home by this time... but she just wanted to stay with him some more. She didn't want to anger the monster in her stomach after all...

Or that's what she told herself. She needed the excuse... she wasn't ready to fully admit how she felt, not with him this close to her. At least Konohamaru seemed to really enjoy the festivities, which brought a sense of relief to her.

Finally, they noticed the crowd has thinned out in general and it was getting really late. She excused herself (hesitantly though), not feeling particularly guilty as Konohamaru seemed to only now realize that he "might've gotten carried away and his family was expecting him home". And thus they have parted their ways and Hanabi was back at the Hyuuga compound well after midnight. During the entire trip back home she felt light and happy in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time. Maybe never. She hadn't even noticed when she was back at the gates. She used some window pane to quickly check the state of her attire and compose herself (she was very surprised to see the look on her own face which could only be described as complacent) and then she went past the gates. Despite the hour the compound was bursting with activity, though it wasn't really that visible from the outside. Her clansmen probably were only now trying to have some fun after attending stiff political events the entire day.

Hanabi proceeded to sneak inside her room without anyone noticing her – she was in no mood to explain where she was, what she was doing and with who. She had managed to go through the mansion without bumping into anyone. Finally, she turned the last corner and saw the corridor leading to her room.

And froze when she spotted a single person in front of the door to her destination.

"Ah good evening... or rather good morning" Hinata greeted her. "How was your evening?"

Hanabi pretended she didn't hear that particular question.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Can't you tell? I'm waiting for you" Hinata answered in that teasing kind of voice. Hanabi just hoped that this wasn't some revenge for all she has done to her older sister during those few past years... because if it was then Hanabi was in a lot of trouble.

"Why?" Hanabi shot again.

"Because I'm concerned with your well-being of course..." Hanabi was opening her mouth to say something, but Hinata continued. "...or would you rather have father waiting here instead of me, asking where have you been?"

That prospect was scary enough to actually shut her up. Only for a moment though. It was true that her last birthday went almost unnoticed, but that didn't change the fact – she was sixteen for almost a month now. Hanabi might not be considered an adult in terms of law and she wasn't a jounin yet, but certainly father couldn't be angry at her from going home a little late, especially since he didn't forbid it in any way.

"Spare me" Hanabi replied, trying to act indignant and intending to walk right past her older sister. "Why would father concern himself with what a common branch family member does at her leisure?"

"You might be a common branch family member" Hinata spoke when Hanabi was passing her. "But you are also our father's daughter. And the youngest one. I think I don't need to tell you that, overall, from the both of us he cared for you more" at this Hanabi actually felt guilty.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't-" she started, but Hinata interrupted her.

"It's okay... I've come to terms with it a long time ago. What I mean is..." she turned to Hanabi. "Up to this point you were trapped in the clan political affairs, but now you can have a life of a normal girl. This, in turn, means that our father is sure to experience some of the worries of normal parents."

"What do you mean?"

"For example, he may get a little interested about people who you hang out with. And boys. Especially boys. We both know that you could handle it yourself, but still fathers can be... persistent in that aspect" Hanabi prayed that Hinata stopped talking about father. But with the next sentence she cursed her own prayers. "Which brings me back to my original purpose here: how did your little date with Konohamaru go?"

Hanabi remained motionless, not even batting an eye – torn between being furious, embarrassed and frightened.

"M-my little d-date?" she sputtered after a moment. Hinata nodded, at which point Hanabi laughed. "What made you think that?"

"Well" the older Hyuuga started. "My Byakugan is not as strong as yours, but it still works."

At this Hanabi's laugh died out. It couldn't be... "Were you spying on u-on me?"

"Call it sisterly care" she said and when she saw Hanabi's bewildered face she continued. "I also used it to see when you were coming back... or did you think that I was standing here for hours waiting for you?"

Hanabi opened her mouth, but her brain lagged behind, failing to provide her with words she could use for her defense.

"You don't really have to answer" Hinata spoke. "I saw your face before you entered the comp-"

"Look, I'm really tired. Can we talk about it tomorrow?" Hanabi spoke hastily and then disappeared inside her room with a quick "good night" before Hinata could object. The older Hyuuga remained still for a moment and then chuckled.

"Good night Hanabi" she spoke softly and then started walking away.

(* * *)

Hanabi waited with activated Byakugan until her sister has left and then she plopped down on her bed.

And sighed.

She remained still for a moment, eyes trained on her ceiling, but her thoughts were somewhere else. This day was certainly too much for her. She didn't know what to think of it anymore... heck, she didn't know what to think of it from the very beginning. She didn't know what exactly happened. Or why. And what it meant for the future. Now that she calmed down she started to doubt her own emotions. After all it sounded so bizarre. Her? In love? And with Konohamaru of all people? She dreaded the morning, since Hinata would definitely try to get some info out of her. However, deep inside she knew that the dread wasn't really about Hinata – it was about coming to terms with this situation. But not today. She was too tired. She will think about it tomorrow.

"Ah" she realized. "Today is tomorrow" and with that last thought she fell asleep.

(* * *)

When Hanabi woke up it was dangerously close to midday, yet the girl found it incredibly difficult to get up. She slowly raised from the bed and with surprise realized that she was sleeping with her festival kimono on. That kinda explained why she felt so numb. She went towards her bathroom and spent a good half an hour there before she made herself presentable.

Oh Kami, she hoped that father was not feeling well enough to have their usual training session today, because currently she wasn't able to do anything even distantly resembling a sparring match, no matter how ridiculous that sounded in her case.

She slowly walked towards the kitchen, hoping that she would meet someone who would be kind (or obedient) enough to serve her a breakfast. Even her sister. However, when she arrived at her destination it was obvious that Hinata was not there and the room was empty – truly a blessing in disguise... or the other way around.

Hanabi sighed and then proceeded to make herself a breakfast requiring the least amount of effort. It wasn't anything close to your usual Hyuuga meal, but she was a shinobi (somewhat) used to scarce provisions during missions, so she didn't complain and the food did manage to ultimately snap her out of her drowsiness.

Now, having completed her morning routine, Hanabi wandered throughout the halls and corridors of the Hyuuga mansion without any definite purpose. She wasn't in a mood for training (just what was wrong with her?) and she wasn't supposed to meet with her team as today was the day off... most probably because the Hokage was too drunk to issue missions...

Her musing came to a halt when she heard some voices and raised her head in curiosity. Hanabi's eyes widened when she saw her father, hand close to his temple, in the company of some council member walking in her direction. Even though she was pretty sure that Hinata was greatly exaggerating when she spoke of father, Hanabi was still not eager to find out. She quickly hid in the only side corridor she saw. And waited.

"By the way" the council member said. "Shouldn't we pay Hinata-sama a visit?"

"Yes, but that can wait. Besides, I think she might need a rest after yesterday" Hiashi answered, though it seemed obvious that he was speaking of his own condition rather than that of his daughter.

The two of them walked down the corridor, making Hanabi release the breath she was holding in relief. Only temporarily though, as the girl suddenly realized that the other person meant "by the way" quite literally – the corridor she chose as her hiding spot was leading to nowhere else but Hinata's room. Perhaps it would be better if she got out of here and quick. That plan was thwarted, however, as soon as the sound of doors sliding reached hear ears.

"Who's there..." a voice quickly followed, making the younger Hyuuga freeze on the spot. "Oh... imouto-chan? Is that you?"

Hanabi responded with a growl.

Hinata apparently didn't hear it or didn't care. "I'm glad that you came here by yourself" she practically hummed.

Felling that resistance was futile, Hanabi only groaned and allowed herself to be dragged inside.

This day was promising to be a real bother.

(* * *)

"So" Hinata started, barely able to conceal a giggle. "Tell me everything!"

Hanabi looked around, not able to comprehend how she ended up on the bed in front of her sister and with a pillow on her lap. This "girl talk" or whatever it was called was not just stupid or embarrassing. It was also completely and utterly pointless.

But apparently not for Hinata, who was looking at Hanabi expectantly.

"What do you want me to say?" the younger Hyuuga spoke, hoping that the feeling of heat on her cheeks was only imaginary.

"Oh, you know" Hinata answered. "Who did you meet with? What were you doing? Did you have fun?"

"What if I didn't meet anyone?"

"And spent a few hours alone and returned tired?"

"Maybe I was training?" Hanabi tried an excuse.

"Yeah, in a kimono..." Hinata rolled her eyes.

Hanabi sighed.

"Look, I think I know where are you going with it" she started. "But still what me and Konohamaru do at our leisure is not your business and-" but he stopped when she saw a dangerous glint in Hinata's eye.

"I thought it wasn't as closed-circle party, but it turns it was just the two of you, eh?" Hinata winked at her.

Hanabi mentally kicked herself. Her sister was only asking general things so far, yet she already blurted out something major. Well, every cloud has a silver lining... maybe it was better to get this over with quickly.

"So what did you do?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing much" Hanabi answered, while avoiding the other woman's gaze and fiddling with the pillow on her lap. "We played some games, ate cotton candy, drunk amezake" at this Hanabi glanced at her sister, knowing her last reaction to her drinking alcohol, but Hinata only nodded, waiting for her to continue. "We watched the fireworks show... pretty normal things."

"Of course" Hinata agreed. "Hanging with boys while eating cotton candy is a pretty normal activity for one Hyuuga Hanabi."

Hanabi glowered at her sister, but she seemed unaffected.

"So were you enjoying it?"

"You mean the festival, right?" Hanabi tried to clarify, because she had this funny little inkling that Hinata meant something else.

"That too" Hinata answered. "But I mostly meant whether you enjoyed each other company. Although I think you did" she winked again.

"Oh, for Kami's sake" Hanabi raised her voice. "You really need to stop this. What's with all this insinuations? Just because I like the boy doesn't mean that-"

At this point she clamped her hands over her own mouth, absolutely, utterly terrified. She didn't say this out loud, did she? She dared a glance at Hinata's face. The fact that her sister looked like one big lump of glee only confirmed it.

She did.

"Oh, Hanabi-chan!" Hinata shouted happily, taking her younger sister into a mighty hug, forcing the air out of her lungs. "I knew it! I am so happy for you! And... what was that?"

"Can't... breath..." Hanabi managed to mumble out and then coughed a little once Hinata loosened her embrace.

"So I was right after all" Hinata said. "I'm glad this happened this fast!"

"No" Hanabi told her sternly, her open-palmed hand in front of Hinata. "This isn't going to happen."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

"Exactly what I wanted to say before you cut me off" the brown-haired sister answered. "This is nothing more than a stupid... what's-its-name... oh yeah... crush."

"Hanabi..."

"And it will go away as it should..."

"Hanabi... I don't think it will go away... it will only continue to grow instead..."

"But it can't!" Hanabi countered, her arms flailing around wildly. "He's my teammate. This can't be good, right? Even I know that!"

"Yes, it might not be the most desirable thing, but it happens, you can't help it" Hinata answered. "Besides, you're both chuunins, in a few years you'll probably be jounins. Then you won't be in the same team anymore, right? See? Not a problem."

Hanabi opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out.

"The heart wants what the heart wants" Hinata said. "And no amount of reason will sway it. You should just go along with your feelings. Carefully of course..."

"What my heart wants?" Hanabi asked. "The thing is, I don't know what it really wants. And I think it'll be better if I never find out. I'll just ignore this."

Yesterday this would be an obvious lie, but in those dozen or so hours Hanabi managed to compose herself a bit and now was ready to deny her own feelings or die trying. At least in front of her sister, who sighed in response.

"If you really won't act on your feelings then, I guess, you could try to ignore it, but it won't work" she said. "It's true that those feelings can damage your teamwork, but suppressing your emotions will do the same. So this is not a choice between being a good or bad teammate, but a choice between being happy or not."

Hanabi remained silent, trying to stop her emotions from betraying her. This talk lasts any more than this and she might explode. Or break.

"Well, I won't force you into a decision, it's your choice" Hinata continued. "But I'll give you some advice in case you chose the right way."

"Advice from you? That's rich! Since when are you a love expert my dear sister?" Hanabi asked laughing.

"Well. I may not be the best" Hinata admitted. "But I am a Hyuuga. I'm good at observing people. Besides... I know for certain that I'm better at this than you, oh my dearest sister."

"I'm your only sister" Hanabi countered, plainly ignoring Hinata's point and trying to change the topic. In vain.

"So, let's see" Hinata started as if she didn't hear her at all. "You could try outright telling him. That would definitely get things going quickly... But this lacks any romance or subtlety, so I think you should do a more ninja-like approach... one befitting a kunoichi."

Hanabi waited for a moment, but Hinata remained silent.

"Well?" the younger Hyuuga asked impatiently.

"Well what?"

"What is this ninja-like approach?"

"Why do you want to know?" Hinata smiled. "A direct approach is something that suits you. I doubt you'd be capable of anything more subtle..."

"Try me!" Hanabi said quickly. Too quickly. "I mean... there's no hurt in telling me, right?"

Hinata only smiled.

"Well, if you insist... the other way is a two-step approach. First, he needs to be in love with you."

Hanabi laughed, desperately trying to hide the strange feeling the the thought of Konohamaru liking her awakened. Get a grip Hanabi!, she told herself.

"He isn't in love with me" she told Hinata. "And I'm not asking him whether he does or not! That'd be the same as a direct approach! This talk makes no sense!"

"Oh... I didn't say anything about asking him... you just make sure that he's into you when you start the second step. And about him not liking you... I think you would be surprised and-"

"What's the second step then?" Hanabi rudely interrupted.

"Simple... you let herself be won by him."

"What?" Hanabi shrieked. "You mean to swoon over him? Over what he says? No way!" she refused to be a passive actor. Her brain seemed to disagree, feeding her images of some of her actions from yesterday, but Hanabi quickly shut it off.

"Well, it's normal for girls to act like that. You should give it a try if the boy is worth it. And I think Konohamaru is."

"That's it!" Hanabi stood up, making the pillow fall down. "I already told you I don't-I won't like him! And I have enough of this conversation" she said, heading for the door intending to go somewhere, anywhere. Anywhere but here. She was already outside when she heard Hinata's voice.

"I want only the best for you, Hanabi... Just promise me that you'll think about it."

Hanabi remained quiet for a moment.

"Alright..." she answered and then she was gone.

(* * *)

Hanabi left the Hyuuga compound and decided to train, seeking solitude and seclusion, hoping it will help her figure things out. However, after two hours of exercise she concluded that instead of clearing her thoughts she only succeeded in postponing any decisions. And getting sweaty. The training itself felt hollow too... as if she was out of form... After that she fell on the grass, breathing hard and spent half an hour doing completely nothing. The most useless 30 minutes of her life so far. Gah! How hard could it be to figure out one's feelings and what to do with them!? Her patience was wearing thin. Grrr... it was all Konohamaru's fault in the first place! He might've done it on purpose. Yeah, that's it. It all made sense.

She groaned and put her hand on her face. She should really stop doing that – blaming others for such things. She wasn't good at this... Hell... she was probably terrible. But she still had to figure this out. She wouldn't let it dictate her fate. No, cousin Neji had enough trouble with this crap, thank you very much. She will figure this out and make a decision and that's final! But easier said then done... And as much as she would like to deny it, the conversation with her sister left her confused. Right now she should be deciding what do to with her situation, not assessing what her situation was in the first place!

Frustrated with her lack of progress Hanabi slowly stood up and headed in the direction of the center of the village. She originally meant to return home and have a shower, she was reeking after all. Instead of making a bee line for the Hyuuga compound she wandered through the streets not noticing people and not really knowing where she was going.

And only then her brain decided that she was in a mood for some thinking. Furthermore, it seemed hurt that Hanabi rejected the truth it was showing her earlier and was determined not to make the same mistake again. Thus, it launched a full assault on Hanabi, showing her a multitude of scenes and situations from and before the festival, at least for a little bit letting her experience everything once more.

As if that wasn't enough, her heart and the monster inside her stomach (or were they one and the same?) tagged along for a ride. Caught in this three-way psychic deadlock Hanabi was quickly overwhelmed, getting closer and closer to reminding herself what she thought when she was looking at Konohamaru's face while fireworks exploded above their heads. She was close now. So close...

"Hanabi."

She turned around immediately, despite her lowered guard her instincts kicked in, resulting in a kunai instantly appearing in her hand, aimed at the neck of the person behind her who turned out to be no-one other than Ebisu.

Her sensei looked between the kunai and Hanabi's face and then raised his eyebrows in question.

"Um... I'm sorry" Hanabi said, retracting her hand. "I just-"

"No need for explanation" Ebisu interrupted her. "Actually, I'm glad you show this much professionalism in your line of work" he added proudly.

Hanabi blinked. Getting praised out of the blue, at a times like this felt weird. Especially, since the time when she needed to prove that kind of things was mostly over. Still, Ebisu was the closest to her in terms of seriousness during missions, so she did feel kind of... content with herself.

"Where are you doing here, sensei?" Hanabi asked, trying to relax. It was slowly getting to her that maybe, just maybe she should really work on her temper...

"Well, I was making some errand, but I noticed you and remembered that I need to talk to you about the next mission for our team."

Hanabi's eyes widened a little. Their team meeting was supposed to be tomorrow.

"Did something happen?" she asked.

"Nothing major, it's trivial really" Ebisu said, while adjusting his glasses. "Actually, instead of doing a mission it is more about not doing a mission. Kind of."

"I don't follow..."

"Well" Ebisu started. "Our team still has some weak spots and some of them were present long before you joined us. I'm especially talking about Moegi and Udon as they need to learn to work on their own. And as for Konohamaru, he could use some practice in leadership."

At the mere mention of Konohamaru, Hanabi's insides seemed to stir, dance even, something she knew was physically impossible... She just hoped that Ebisu didn't notice.

"I still don't understand."

"I visited the Hokage today on some errand" errands, it seemed, were everything Ebisu did on his off days... "And I obtained information about our tomorrow missions. One of them is C-rank and would be ideal to let Moegi and Udon work by themselves, so I'm sending just the two of them."

Hanabi nodded, as clueless as before.

"The other one is a short but serious A-rank mission. It will be carried out by an experienced team, but I convinced the Hokage to send Konohamaru as well. He will be officially second-in-command and will have the chance to influence some major decisions. It will be a great learning experience for him, especially since such mission do not appear often after the war."

"Isn't a "serious A-rank" a little too dangerous?" Hanabi's eyes widened when she realized those words came from her mouth. Konohamaru would be fine. There was no doubt about it. So why in Kami's name did she say it out loud?

Ebisu nodded.

"Shouldn't be a problem, but I understand your worry" as hell you do, Hanabi thought. "No need to feel that way though. I will go with him. He is my oldest student after all."

"Wait a moment" Hanabi noticed something. "And what about me?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you. The reward for both missions is substantial-"

"I don't really need money right now, you know?" Hanabi interrupted.

"And that's precisely why I'm asking you to sit this one out. I can't send you with Moegi and Udon, that would defeat the whole purpose and I really can't take you on the other mission, me and Konohamaru are already two unplanned shinobi. Rest assured, I'll find some missions specifically for you to make up for it later."

Hanabi only nodded. Surprisingly though, the idea of getting a mission tailored just for the sake of polishing her skills didn't appeal to her as strongly as she though it would. What was even more surprising, as soon as she fully digested the information she felt strangely out of place. She felt alone. It was something she rarely felt. Something she often longed for – just to be left alone to train without all the clan-team-social crap. It should make her happy. But it didn't.

Instead she remained in place, gazing into space long after Ebisu has left.

(* * *)

It was already evening when she finally reached the compound, making her try to comprehend what was obviously impossible – how did she manage to waste the entire day doing nothing again? She was once more reminded of her stomach, this time telling her that she hadn't eaten anything since morning and should visit the kitchen along the way. To make things worse she wasn't even that much hungry – she only grabbed some fruits, a glass of milk and, surprisingly enough, a box of cookies (probably Hinata's) and then went to her room without bumping into anyone important on the way there. Once inside she remained still for a little while, dead certain that Hinata would come through the door any minute wanting to talk with her. Or worse – her father barging in and demanding to know who was this boy she hanged out with.

Surprisingly, nothing like that happened and some time and one bath later Hanabi was in her bed, hands once in a while reaching in search for another cookie, but only because Hanabi needed a distraction... or so she has told herself. And then she sighed.

She was such a mess... some professional shinobi she was... Why life has to be so difficult? She was starting to think it would be easier to make a decision if Konohamaru and her were arranged to marry from the very beginning. In that case she would have an excuse and she would either threaten him into obedience or just stop wedding from happening in the first place (for example, because no-one would be able to find the bridegroom).

She slapped herself. Figuratively and literally.

What in Kami's name was she even thinking about? What arranged marriage? Scratch that! She shouldn't be thinking about regular marriage either! No thinking! Not at all.

She turned to lie on her stomach, resting her head on her hands.

This was so absurd. All of this. She had already established that she didn't need Konohamaru or any other man or boy for that matter (at least in that context)... Besides, he didn't like her back... what was the point of trying then? She would be unable to make him happy... and she kinda wanted him to be happy (but not because she liked him, got it?). And what was to it? What good would come from it? Compliments? Hmph! They are usually more like lies! Holding hands? What purpose did it even serve? And kis-kissin... hell, she couldn't even think about it properly, for Kami's sake! And who in their right mind would think that she, Hyuuga friggin' Hanabi would allow such things in public! What if someone saw them? Hell, what if her FATHER saw them?

Her treacherous brain once again provided her with a vivid footage, proving that she pretty much enjoyed the festival with him. The little contact. The little compliments. It also reminded her being pissed at that girl what's-her-name. And her brain told her that she knew EXACTLY why she was pissed. But her brain wasn't infallible, it could make a mistake.

At this point the new inhabitant of her gut threatened her (no matter how ridiculous that sounded) with a night of stomach ache if she didn't shut up and accept the obvious truth.

Alright, alright, I will at least TRY it, okay? I promise, she thought. The gut monster only purred in response. By the way, what body part of a jinchuuriki did bijuu inhabit again?

Ugh! Maybe she was going insane... in a kinda good way. Whatever, she needed to go to sleep. She had a busy day ahead of her, because if she was to do it right, then she would need a little research first.

(* * *)

The next day wasn't remarkably successful so far, Hanabi concluded. She had managed a proper bath and a proper breakfast, because, honestly, the last two days have been a mess in this aspect. After she was done, she immediately turned to her main agenda for today – how to proceed with this whole romance thing. In order to do this she needed some information. And this was where the problems started.

The first possibility was to ask someone for opinion and advice. But who? Someone of her own clan? Nuh-uh. She didn't want them to know anything about it. Especially her father. And she had enough of watching her sister's smug smile when they were passing each other in the corridor. So that was a big no. Of course asking anybody outside of the clan was out of the question too. The only people she really knew enough to ask this were either closely related to Konohamaru or prone to gossiping.

Her second option was to try the village library. Of course not the ninja library, but the other one – used mainly by the civilian population. She thought it was a good idea, after all it turned out the library did contain an entire department dedicated to male and female relationships. However, after some time spent there Hanabi noticed two problems. First, the books weren't really helping her as much as she expected. Not if she didn't have at least a few free days to browse through them. And the second, the sight of Hyuuga Hanabi in a public library reading books about love and romance was weird to say the least. She spotted people watching her. More then once. She didn't know who they were, but there was no doubt that they knew who SHE was. And they were whispering. After that she started to suspect that maybe the library wasn't as brilliant idea as she originally thought. Her suspicion changed into dead certainty the moment she noticed Sai grabbing a book about sexual relations from the same shelf she had been using.

She ran out of the library as fast as she could.

After that she decided to use the last option available to her – observing people from a good vantage point. So here she was, sitting on some rooftop, her Byakugan activated and spying on teenagers in love...

Wait... she wasn't spying on them. Her current "victims" were... what was the term again? Oh yea... flirting in an alley next to the main street. They were practically on a public display, so she wasn't really spying on them, right? She only used her kekkei genkai to see better, she wasn't hurting anyone after all.

And she wasn't exactly enjoying it either. When the brown-haired boy leaned to kiss the girl she could no longer endure it and she wasn't sure why. Of course she tried to tell herself that it was because she was intruding on their personal business, but her ever-vigilant heart told her that it was because the teens too much reminded her of Konohamaru and herself. It was almost like being with him... almost like kiss-no! Not going there! That boy was nothing like him and Konohamaru was currently participating in an important mission and-

"Umm..."

Hanabi was already on edge, but the possibility that someone, anyone, could catch her doing such shameful things terrified her to the core. However, she expertly masked the fear with anger, turning quickly, intending to plunge her kunai into whoever dared to scare her. But the person caught her wrist before the attack could connect, a surprised "Hey what was that for?" following it. And all of a sudden Hanabi was calm. Frozen even.

"K-konohamaru?"

Seeing that she recognized him the said boy smiled brightly. "Yup, that's me in person!" he answered cheerfully, using the same phrase she used during the festival. This didn't go unnoticed by Hanabi. At this point she knew her face would be soon covered with a rose blush... if it already wasn't...

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on an A-rank mission?" she asked, equally curious and terrified. And happy. She couldn't deny that she was happy to see him. She had a suspicion though. Maybe it was just Hinata transformed?

"You know about that?" he replied, his eyebrows rising. Okay, maybe he was the real Konohamaru. "Oh yeah... sensei must've told you about it" he said mostly to himself, then he turned back to her. "The mission hasn't started yet. It's important, but not really that long or urgent."

Hanabi was painfully aware of his fingers wrapped around her wrist. She slowly retracted her hand.

"Sorry for that" she said. "I was just-"

"Yeah, you were just being a good, vigilant professional chuunin, I know."

Hanabi blinked. She was about to say "careless and spaced out" but bit her tongue on time. Why did they all say such things now and not a few weeks ago when she actually wanted to hear them? On a second thought... maybe she did want to hear them now. At least from him.

"So" Konohamaru said, nervously scratching the back of his head, apparently uneasy because of her quietness. "What are you up to?" he asked, his eyes showing a playful glint, as if he suspected she was in a middle of some prank.

If he only knew... no, scratch that, he MUSN'T ever know!

"Nothing much" she lied, surprised at how wrong it felt to actually lie to him. "I have a day off and I thought I would try to relax, you know. To... how do you call it...?"

"Unwind?" Konohamaru suggested, his eyes focused on hers.

She used all her might not to look away.

"Yeah" since when was her throat parched? Her tongue also felt kinda rigid for no apparent (much less valid) reason...

"I'd love to help you out" he said. "And trust me, there is a lot I could show you... but it has to be some other time. I should be going or Ebisu will get mad. I just stopped to say 'hi'".

She only nodded, half-listening, half-focused on the untamed monster in her stomach, who started to behave strangely... as if it split into hundreds of bubbling thingies... are... is this that famous "butterfly in the stomach" thing?

"But I will show it to you next time, okay? It's a promise!" he flashed her his usual toothy grin.

"Yeah..." she said and after he was gone she added. "It's a promise..."

She reactivated her Byakugan and decided to watch the alley lovebirds some more, even though they certainly stopped kissing by now.

Only they didn't.

(* * *)

It was late afternoon and Hanabi was currently seated on one of the old swings in front of the ninja academy. Truth be told, it would be quite embarrassing if she was found here, but she was hidden in the shadows and too deep in thought to pay any attention to this.

Several hours of... research proved useful... at least now she knew how ridiculous and complicated this entire boyfriend-girlfriend thing was. Maybe complicated was a wrong word. It was just... strange and plain shameless. Hanabi didn't understand how people could do such things in public. Did they have no sense of shame or pride? And the funny thing was that she couldn't really do anything about it... She could only choose to try to fight it or go along with it. And she chose the latter. She was slowly becoming aware that before this whole thing was over she will had made a fool of herself more than once. She just hoped it was worth it.

She raised her head and instantly was brought back to reality – two figures exited the ninja academy. Hanabi has been waiting here because she needed to think and there was a chance those two will appear here. Of course the chances were slim and it was nothing more but a coincidence, but Hanabi was so used to coincidences over the past few days that frankly it didn't surprise her anymore. She observed the two figures and noticed that they parted ways after a moment. Hanabi no longer believed in a fixed fate like cousin Neji once did, but when each figure went in different direction she couldn't help but think that it was some kind of sign. Just now she has been given a chance to make this next step and it was up to her to seize it. It's not like she was totally one-hundred-percent sure of everything... It's not like she wanted to do it, quite the opposite – she dreaded it more than most enemies she ever faced. But it had to be done. Her sense of honor demanded it.

So she sighed, stood up and started walking.

(* * *)

Practically since the very beginnings of Team Ebisu (better known as Konohamaru Corps) their jounin sensei had always claimed that Moegi and Udon had some issue with Konohamaru. Yes, his developing leadership skills were good and all, but overly depending on the Sarutobi boy was not. Most of the time they were just speeches though, rarely accompanied by special exercises and punishment, as if Ebisu truly believed that words alone will be enough to change the balance of the team. However, now it seemed he came to his senses and changed his strategy. What with sending her and Udon on a mission alone. She had to admit that her sensei had a point though (not that she ever doubted that... much) as it proved somewhat difficult to decide who would issue orders this time. Or more precisely, Udon immediately decided to make her the leader, but that didn't turn out to be the brightest of ideas. Well, she should probably get used to this, as this certainly wasn't last such mission.

Her musings were interrupted by a person landing on the road a few meters in front of her. Moegi was instantly alarmed (too little, too late she thought to herself), but relaxed when she realized it was Hanabi.

"Umm... good evening" the Hyuuga girl started in a gentle voice, making Moegi blink. Was it just her or the girl seemed unnaturally meek and nervous?

And formal...

"Yeah, nice to see you too..." Moegi waved hand at the pale-eyed girl, trying to relieve the obvious tension. In vain – Hanabi still looked like a strange mix between pained and regretful.

"Umm... is there something you want from me?"

"Yes... I mean no... I mean kinda."

"That's not very helpful" Moegi concluded, but stopped when Hanabi bowed to her. Quite deeply she might add...

"What are you-"

"I would like to extend my sincerest apologies. I am very sorry Hatsuko-san!" Hanabi started in a fast, but rather emotional voice, her eyes closed. "Know that I am very ashamed of myself and my foolishness. I am ready to repent and atone in any... well most ways you shall see fit... I could obviously offer you money or training supervision, but I know you won't accept them."

Moegi didn't like the way it was heading.

"Repent?" she asked. "Repent for what?"

Hanabi bowed even lower, but Moegi felt it was more to cover her face than anything else.

"I once made you a promise. My honor demands that I keep it, but my heart is stronger. I know I will be forever disgraced by this... but I cannot keep this promise... I am sorry."

"W-what do you mean?" Moegi asked, though deep in her heart she knew the answer already.

"I can" Hanabi started and Moegi now was sure of it. As impossible as it sounded, it was true. Hanabi was sobbing. "I can no longer support the romantic relationship between you and Konohamaru!"

"And why is that?" Moegi asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Because" Hanabi started, only now realizing that she has only admitted it in front of her sister and even then it was not directly. She didn't know it would be this hard.

"Because what?" Moegi prodded, losing the little patience she possessed.

"BECAUSE I LIKE HIM TOO!" Hanabi's eyes opened. She... didn't just shout it out loud in a middle of the street like that, right?

Apparently she did, because silence came. And it was terrifying, the fact that she couldn't even see her own two feet past her tears right now only made it worse. Just when was the last time she cried like that? After Kami knows how long Hanabi slowly raised her head. She had been expecting a hit. Maybe not a beating, but at least a slap (if Moegi's slap was any better than a beating). But Moegi remained in place, her face showing surprise, but no shock or fury. It slowly grimaced into something Hanabi could only describe as determination and anger. It seemed as if this information wasn't as unexpected to Moegi as Hanabi originally thought.

"I see" Moegi said finally, her eyes both cold and full of life at the same time. "So that's how it is after all..."

"Wait... You mean you knew?" Hanabi asked, fully aware how out of place this question was.

"No... but a woman's intuition is never wrong" Moegi said slowly, still too calm for Hanabi's liking. "So what happened?" she made a step forward, getting closer to the Hyuuga. "Did your eyes open all of a sudden or what?" Another step. "Or maybe they didn't." Step. "Maybe you still can't see that you don't fit with him" she was now merely meter away from Hanabi and the girl now had no doubt.

Moegi was angry.

"You appeared out of the blue" the girl was speaking quieter, but was also much closer, every word like a hit, every sentence like a wound.

"A smart-ass" strike to the neck.

"Unruly" kick to the gut.

"Noble" kunai cut to the arm.

"Brat!" Moegi finished. "Do you really think you are better than all of us common girls? You really think you could have him? You think you could make him happy? You think you could actually like him?"

"No" Hanabi responded. "All of that is a "no"... except the last one" she admitted. This visibly disturbed Moegi, but she pressed on.

"Don't make me laugh!" she said. "Do you really want to tell me that you love him? Do you really think that?"

Hanabi raised her head and looked straight into Moegi's eyes. She might be a naïve little girl. She might be new to this whole romance thing, but she could sort out her own feelings (even if it took some time... and some help). She was certain of the answer.

"No..."

Moegi's eyes widened and then her entire disposition changed, as if the air escaped from her through some vent invisible even to the eyes of a Hyuuga. Hanabi chose this opportunity to elaborate.

"I'm not foolish enough to think that what I feel is love... It is much too soon for that. I can hardly admit that I like h-him" she stuttered and then continued with more force. "That I like Konohamaru! And I may be in love with him... but being in love with someone and loving someone are two vastly different things."

Now the only thing on Moegi's face was pure shock. It remained there for a few moments, actually managing to scare the crap out of Hanabi, but then it was replaced with something akin to determination, strong will and a hint of... respect?

"So even someone like you can understand that much, huh?" the orange-haired girl started. "I've got to admit. You're full of surprises, aren't you? I guess then that you've come here to declare a war?"

"I prefer to call it competition" Hanabi replied, clearly surprised by Moegi's reaction.

"Competition, huh? I guess that also means that our teamwork goes to hell starting from now on?"

"No..." Hanabi shook her head. "This has nothing to do with our team in general. I intend to perform my duties as a team member and work with my comrades as before... better even..."

"And you really believe that Konohamaru likes you back?"

"What?!" Hanabi asked. "Of course not... But I won't lie to you. I will fight for him however I can. Our team relations are one thing, but aside from that... no rules!"

"All is fair in war and love, huh?" Moegi summed up, a dangerous smile on her lips. "So we're like... teammate rivals, now?"

"Something like that..." Hanabi replied. "I believe it's nothing new for the two of us."

"Right... but this time you're not the one who has the advantage, you know?"

"I am fully aware of that. And I believe it is Konohamaru's right to chose, so I will honor his decision. No hard feelings whoever wins, right?"

"I'm glad you feel that way. That actually makes some things easier" Moegi said and then started to walk forward. Hanabi was dead certain that she would be slapped just for good measure, but Moegi just passed her and continued walking. After a moment though she stopped and slightly turned back.

"Then I suppose I will see you at the next team meeting..."

It was a statement, not a question and Moegi couldn't see her face, but Hanabi still nodded.

"Oh and one more thing" the orange-haired girl said catching her attention. "I can't really blame you for any of this and I should have seen all of this sooner. So don't get it wrong... but what you did was a little... bitchy..."

Hanabi remained silent.

She couldn't deny that one after all.

(* * *)

And here she was again – back in her own bedroom after another bizarre day. She was so out of her element here. Of course now that things were done and bridges were burned she started having doubts... This entire thing probably won't end well. Heck, someone was practically bound to get hurt in one way or another and there was not guarantee that those who will end up together will be happy... assuming some people end up together at all... This could still go wrong in so many ways. Ugh! She should stop thinking about this... she needs to go to sleep. She needs to go back into her usual daily routine before she freaks out big time.

Hanabi tried to relax and empty her mind, to silence and suppress the wild thoughts running through her head. She managed to suppress them alright, but they still remained, gently, but constantly reaching the surface of her mind. In particular, she was reminded about those two stupid teens. She still thought that some of the things they had done were particularly shameless, gross even. Others were too... sweet for her liking. But she still preferred a few chaste kisses over this impudent... what was it called... ahh... making out. Of course not that she planned to start kissing Konohamaru anytime soon, even though she had to admit that it has crossed her mind. Her brain immediately responded, showing her the same scene in the alley, only with her and Konohamaru as the main characters.

That stupid stubborn brain of hers...

And so she had fallen asleep and it was the best night of sleep she has experienced in quite some time, so when the morning came she got up easily, well-rested and anxious for some physical training.

However, people often have several dreams in one night, but are unable to remember most of them. Thus, Hanabi never learned that she owed her good mood to the fact that she spent entire night dreaming about herself caught between a wall and Konohamaru while she fervently made out with him.

**(* * *)**

**So, just to ensure that my readers are not confused (at least no more than I want them to be), here is the general timeline for this chapter:**

**1. Day of the festival, Hanabi gets back home, meets Hinata and escapes her sisterly clutches.**

**2. Day after the festival, Hanabi talks with Hinata, gets confused, tries to figure things out, talks with Ebisu, gets even more confused and finally goes to sleep, determined to try anyway. That's one busy day of doing nothing.**

**3. Two days after the festival. Hanabi calls herself to order, escapes the den of Sai (the library), spies on completely innocent and unsuspecting teens and gets shaken by Konohamaru. She then imitates Naruto's seat-on-the-swing routine and declares a war on Moegi after which she involuntarily indulges in a night of pleasant dreams.**

**As we can see new things unfold and old rivalries reignite. I wonder what will happen next. Do you? If you do, then drop me a review or two, let them flow to me! Or something like that...**

**P.S.**

**This chapter is sponsored by Borg. Resistance is futile.**

**And by the Noblesse... if I remembered that particular reference line correctly... I'm not going through 300 webtoon chapters to check.**


	23. Out with the old, in with the new

**Hello everyone, I'm back... at last.**

**I'm sorry for the low update frequency, but there's nothing I can really do about it. Good news, I have figured out some plot details for next chapters. Bad news, I still need to combine the details into one coherent plot. But, we're slowly getting to the end of this story... I hope.**

**Disclaimer: I own Naruto... not!**

**(* * *)**

Naruto was trying to act professional, especially in front of Tsunade, and was faring surprisingly well so far, despite the fact that his current task was not very interesting to say the least. More precisely, he was darn sure he would be bored out of his mind before noon.

He shook those thoughts aside and continued to give a mission briefing. Or at least he tried. He really tried. After all he wanted to make a good impression. He wanted to prove that he was fit to be a Hokage and to perform all tasks associated with the title – including assigning the missions to teams.

However, he found this a little difficult when the team in front of him was barely listening at all. And it was not normal either. I mean yes – most teams showed at least slight to medium levels of everything ranging from boredom and annoyance to straightforward ignorance and exasperation. And Naruto had obviously figured out that Team Ebisu would be no better for the most part. But now as he looked at them it was obvious that they had it even worse this time.

Well, at least the reason for this was obvious the moment he first laid his eyes on Hanabi.

Naruto was not going to argue – he wasn't particularly smart, especially outside of combat, but even he could, more or less, guess what was the purpose that driven the young Hyuuga's actions. The effect was mildly surprising, but the mere thought of what was going through her head to result in this was what caused Naruto's shock. He would love to comment and cause some embarrassment, but he decided otherwise for several reasons. First, he wasn't really sure that he was correct. Second, he wasn't sure he wouldn't mess things up. And third, following from the second, if he did he would probably receive several bumps on his head from four of the girls in the room.

And Hanabi herself.

Thus, he focused on his original task and remained unable to observe the reactions of the other people in the room.

And there were some reactions worth watching.

Ebisu was, not surprisingly, the most collected, torn between being nervous and trying to hide it. Udon was looking practically the same, except that his glasses were transparent, so one could clearly see his restless eyes. Moegi seemed to completely ignore Hanabi, which was noticeable despite the fact that both girls at the moment were doing mostly nothing. Konohamaru seemed a polar opposite of that – he was overly conscious of the Hyuuga's presence, tossing her a quick glance once in a while, not brave enough to directly look at her. As for Hanabi herself, she appeared as if everything was fine, though that mask wasn't perfect, clearly indicating that the girl was aware of the attention she was drawing and not capable of properly dealing with it.

All in all, Hanabi's teammates were already slightly familiar with the whole thing, which couldn't be said for the other people in the room. Tsunade, for example, completely forgot about the need to supervise Naruto and smiled a smile that was as sweet as it was sinister. Sakura seemed to take over her master's duty and kept a close eye on Naruto, yet even she did it casually – more concerned with observing her junior team. Shizune smiled a nervous smile, being the only one who wasn't looking at Ebisu and his students – she just kept looking at Naruto, Sakura and Tsunade in turns as if not sure from whom the snide comments or violence will ensue. This resulted in Iruka shooting Shizune a confused look. He was most likely the only one who honestly didn't understand the situation.

No-one could really blame him though, the whole thing would be perfectly normal for any civil girl and even quite normal for most kunoichis. For Hanabi, however, it seemed... unorthodox.

Naruto continued to describe the mission details, while Team Ebisu struggled to pay attention to him. Konohamaru, in particular, had trouble with this, as he went back to the events from half an hour ago.

(* * *)

Konohamaru was late. I mean, he usually was and no-one would be surprised to see him arrive a little late for his team meeting. But this time he was lagging behind more than usual... and today, for once, he wanted to be on time, because... well, he didn't need a reason to be on time, right?

He stopped his frantic train of thoughts when he saw the meeting spot and landed in front of his team.

"I'm sorry for being late!" he started at the same time Ebisu was opening his mouth to scold him.

"Konohamaru-kun" his sensei started, his hand on his glasses. "Instead of being sorry you should try to arrive on schedule for once!"

Konohamaru gritted his teeth. He was trying! He was just about to talk back when Moegi spoke.

"Oh c'mon sensei" she started, her voice somewhat different than normal, more smooth and... endearing? "I'm sure Konohamaru-_kun_ is trying his best" she smiled at him, making Konohamaru raise his eyebrows and look at Udon, who seemed to avoid his gaze.

"Besides" Moegi continued. "It's not like he's the only one being late."

This confused Konohamaru. Who else was late? Ebisu, Moegi and Udon were all here, so...

Hanabi!

His mind started to work, thoughts flowing in full swing. Hanabi was not here and she was NEVER late under normal circumstances. Something must have happened. Why were they all so calm?

Konohamaru turned to Udon, who hopefully would listen to him. Fortunately, the brown-haired boy just now looked in his direction, but Konohamaru didn't go past "Hey" when he noticed the strange look on his friend's face – a strange mix between confusion and disbelief. It was then that Konohamaru heard a voice from behind. A voice he was already so used to.

"Good morning everyone. I'm deeply sorry for being late."

Konohamaru was immediately relieved. He turned around intending to greet Hanabi, but for the umptenth time today he didn't manage to get any words out, his brain questioning what his eyes were seeing. Next to him Moegi gritted her teeth almost audibly. As for Udon and Ebisu the same thought appeared in front of their minds.

Uh-oh.

Before them stood Hyuuga Hanabi, obviously the same they had known for the last few weeks, but she looked... different.

The most obvious change, one that was impossible to miss, were her clothes. Gone were the Hyuuga male-oriented white, gray and beige pants and so was the pale-green custom chuunin vest. As a matter of fact, the vest was completely gone – replaced by a purple shirt with a lavender mesh shirt underneath. The shirt itself was practically sleeveless, but there was also some strange garment that covered Hanabi's arms, acting as sleeves of sorts. The end of each sleeve was wider and hanged in an enticing way. At first it looked impractical for a shinobi, until Konohamaru realized how many kunais or shurikens could be hidden in such sleeves. The shirt also sported a significant V neckline which would be considered indecent if it weren't for the mesh undershirt.

Below the purple shirt Konohamaru had expected the same shade purple pants. He was surprised, however to see a purple skirt instead. It ended just above Hanabi's knees and had been cut off at the sides, which was evident when a gust of wind blew. Konohamaru had a reminiscent feeling that he couldn't place for a moment until it hit him – Yamanaka Ino was wearing identical skirt some years ago and there was a reason he remembered that one... it was looking as good on Hanabi as it ever looked on Ino.

The previous gust of wind revealed something else, black shorts that Hanabi was wearing underneath the skirt. On the other end of her legs she was wearing quite regular ankle-high shinobi sandals. And that's it – all Konohamaru could see from the bottom of the shorts to the top of the sandals were Hanabi's bare legs.

Her musular, yet slender and smooth, womanly, long and practically uncovered bare legs.

Konohamaru swallowed, his brain on full throttle. What was the purpose of this? The only explanation was that Hanabi wanted to trap him, prove his pervertedness and then beat the crap out of him. It wasn't logical, it didn't even make sense and thus wasn't very likely. But Konohamaru was not going to risk bodily harm, so he quickly tore his eyes from the entrancing curves of Hanabi's calves and congratulated himself on his self-control.

That self-satisfaction was short-lived however, when his raising gaze met equally eye-pleasing curves of her hips, accentuated by a dark purple sash that kept Hanabi's skirt in place. Konohamaru's gaze remained focused on that particular spot for a split-second and then continued its trip upwards.

Until it stopped at another set of curves that was accentuated even better. This time Konohamaru didn't move his eyes away and didn't swallow. He didn't even bother to breathe.

Years of experience and careful studies of hundreds of women (and thousand of their pictures) had given Konohamaru mostly useless, but accurate ability to guage the woman's bust at a glance. Hanabi's wasn't huge, big and and not even medium. But the girl was just sixteen. And quite frankly – it was kinda fitting her petite frame. By this time some things become obvious to Konohamaru.

First, he really wanted to know what shape they actually were. Second, he immediately looked to the side, figuring out that not getting a nosebleed and not dying as a shapeless bloody pulp on the ground was his best shot at being able to someday solve the previous issue.

And third, when he became Hokage, he would definitely ban Konoha kunoichis from wearing those stupid, ugly, evil chuunin vests...

"Um... Hanabi-san?" Udon spoke after a moment, bringing Konohamaru out of his stupor and grabbing the Hyuuga's attention.

"Yes?"

"Excuse me for asking... But-"

"What's with all of... this?" Moegi finished for him, her voice bitter and hands wildly gesturing to all of Hanabi.

"Huh?" Hanabi asked in, obviously faked, confusion. "Ah... you mean this?" she asked looking at herself and straightening imaginary wrinkles on her clothes.

"Yeah" Konohamaru intelligently joined the conversation.

"Just an image change" Hanabi responded. "You know, after all those changes in the clan and all" she paused for a moment. "So... what do you think, Moegi?" she asked, while she gracefully brushed the hair of her face. The question was seemingly directed at Moegi, yet for some reason Hanabi's eyes were fixed on Konohamaru, who used this opportunity to study the girl's face.

To his surprise there were some changes there as well. Her cheeks, for example looked less pale and more rosy than usual. Her eyes were still the same shade of lilac-tinted white and were as sharp as ever, holding the same glint of pride and nobility... However, they were not as icy as before, now they seemed... warmer, as if they were finally influenced by the small neutral smile that was currently playing on Hanabi's lips.

Even her hair seemed to change, though Konohamaru couldn't tell what was different. It was still long, some strands reaching almost to the small of her back, still the same shade of brown, still looking as silky as before with one stubborn strand gracefully hanging in front of her face despite being brushed away just moments ago.

In other words – Konohamaru was mesmerized.

"Um... I-I think it suits you well" he answered even though he wasn't sure the question was directed at him.

"Attention people" Ebisu interjected out of the blue. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have to go to the academy. You know – report, get an assignment, do a mission, get paid, right?"

"Oh, right" Konohamaru replied, barely aware of what Ebisu was talking about.

"Then let's not waste time" Hanabi said and jumped into the air. Everyone followed after her, except for Moegi, who quickly appeared next to her.

"So..." she started, voice strained and eyebrows twitching. "This is your strategy, huh? Not very honorable or fair of you, don't you think?"

"Hoo?" Hanabi replied, her smile positively wicked. "I don't see anything dishonorable with showing off your good points... And besides" she turned to the orange-haired girl. "All is fair in war and love, right?"

Moegi couldn't deny that.

(* * *)

Konohamaru was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone call his name. And then he noticed that everyone in the room was looking at him strangely. Even Hanabi was shooting him a confused side glance.

"Ye-yes?" he said, clearing his throat.

"Are you alright?" Shizune and Iruka asked at the same time.

"Huh?" Konohamaru was confused. "Why would I not be alright?"

"Well" Tsunade interjected, an unreadable look on her face. "Naruto just told you that there is a good C-rank mission for your team."

Konohamaru was still confused. "And?"

At this the surprised looks he was getting disappeared, replaced by those ranging from worry, to clear panic. Naruto's open jaw almost hit the desk, Ebisu looked torn between happy and scared and Hanabi turned to look at Konohamaru directly, obviously not knowing what to think.

Konohamaru could feel his face heat up.

"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"Are you not going to throw a tantrum?" Naruto asked. "And say that such missions were below you?"

Konohamaru remained calm for a moment. And then it clicked.

"Hehehe!" he exclaimed while scratching the back of his head. "You're right, oniisan... Isn't there some better mission for us?"

It was Naruto's turn to remain silent for a few seconds. And then a prankster aura started to emanate from him, one that dwarfed even the one coming from Tsunade.

"A better one?" Naruto asked, if he was trying to hide his foxy grin then he utterly failed. "I'm afraid I have nothing like that, but I might have some other solution. Iruka-sensei, hand me the other mission requests as well."

Iruka did as he was told, the look on his face proving that he didn't take Naruto actions as a good sing. Team Ebisu must have thought as well as evident from them looking at each other.

"Just as I thought" Naruto spoke after a minute. "We have no single mission that's better than C-rank for five-man cell as yourselves... but" he paused dramatically, looking at each one of them in turns. "We do have a couple of missions that should be a perfect match for one jounin or a pair of chuunins."

"What do you mean exactly?" Ebisu asked.

"It's simple" Naruto replied. "I have one spy B-rank mission that would require the amount of experience only Ebisu has. It's not complicated and it's listed as B-rank only because there will be enemy ninjas along the way. Moreover, I have right here" he waved a particular set of files for emphasis. "Two C-rank missions, one asking for escort and one asking for help in a local conflict. In short: two simple mercenary missions without enemy shinobi involved" Naruto placed one of his hands on his cheek, his smile literally feral by now. "And since we have four chuunins remaining I say we assign one two-man cell for each mission. That way no-one should complain about the mission being too easy and there'd be plenty of reward money for five people. So, any objections?"

Moegi and Hanabi exchanged quick and almost imperceptible glances and then both opened their mouths, but Naruto was only waiting for that.

"Oh, I forgot to mention" he told them. "We haven't decided on the make up of those two-man cells. Let's see... what would be the best choice. Ah I know... Konohamaru and Udon will take the escort mission, while Moegi and Hanabi will help with the local conflict. That's the best solution, right?"

The remaining nine people in the room looked at him with looks filled with feelings ranging from amusement (Tsunade), silent praise (Shizune) and incomprehension (Iruka and Sakura) to panic (Ebisu), disappointment (Konohamaru, Udon) and open wrath (Moegi, Hanabi).

"I don't hear any objections" Naruto spoke, before anyone could in fact object. "So here are your mission details" he handed them three sets of files. "I'm sure all of you'll do just fine, believe it! That's all, dismissed."

(* * *)

And that was how Konohamaru has ended on a escort-type mission. Actually, it was the weirdest, most bizarre and most boring C-rank mission of his life.

He and Udon were sitting on a cart, which alone brought memories to his mind. Mostly unpleasant memories. However, this time they were transporting more mundane and, by extension, more vital supplies. And this time there was no spoiled little brat. And no Hanabi or Moegi. No other people. No enemies.

There was actually nothing beyond two shinobis, a cart, a horse and a spooky ride throughout some forgotten woods.

"This is bullshit!" Konohamaru exploded finally. "What kind of mission is that? It was supposed to be an escort mission! I don't see anyone to escort here."

"We're escorting the cargo" Udon remarked. "It's not much different than protecting a caravan, except-"

"Except the merchants are not here! We're shinobi for Kami's sake! Warriors! Assassins! Not carriers!"

"The duty of the Konohagakure shinobi is to do missions and obey the Hokage" Udon said, sounding like he's taken it from some old shinobi rule book. A very old one. Possibly written by Uchiha Madara or some equally deranged person. "Client requested this mission, the Hokage accepted it and-"

"We were assigned to it, so we should shut up and do it, I know. But seriously, are you trying to tell me you're happy with that kind of missions?"

"It's not thrilling, but I'm not going to complain... much" Udon answered, looking around. They were on a mission after all.

"Hmpf" was all Konohamaru had to say.

"Better get used to this" Udon told him. "With the relative peace the last few years this kind of jobs might become the bulk of our village's income... if they aren't already."

"This still sucks!" Konohamaru wasn't giving up. "You know what? I think there is no-one around here to attack us. I bet they were just too scared of this forest do it themselves."

"That's going a little too far. I'm sure it's not like that" Udon told him.

"Five hundred ryou says it is!"

"You're on!" the glass-wearing boy extended his hand and Konohamaru shook it without hesitation.

"So... how about something to do while we wait for our attackers?"

"What are you suggesting?" Konohamaru asked, while looking to the side. "Counting trees?"

"No, I meant to talk about the reason you're so antsy and upset."

"Upset?" Konohamaru asked. "I'm not upset. What makes you think I'm upset?" he finished turning away from Udon.

"And" Udon pressed on. "500 ryou says I know the reason you're upset."

"Okay, I'll bite. Why am I upset?"

"It starts with a 'ha'-"

"Udon..." Konohamaru warned.

"-and ends with a 'bi'."

At this Konohamaru practically hissed. Udon only smiled.

"Admit it, you're angry because you've lost the chance to spend some more time with Hanabi."

"And why would that be?"

"Don't play dumb. Her new clothes made an impression on you... or rather what's beneath them. If you know what I mean" the boy winked.

"What?" Konohamaru asked, seemingly genuinely surprised. "C'mon, they're just clothes!"

"They're not just clothes. I got a feeling that her entire disposition changed. I'd say she's more graceful now... if that's even possible."

"Whatever. I still wasn't impressed."

"Yeah, right..." Udon talked back. "You were so not impressed that you were trying to look at her the entire time."

"That's not-"

"And" Udon continued. "When her and Moegi were walking away for their mission, you were very focused looking at her... backside. I take it that it was a good sight, huh?"

To that Konohamaru had no answer. But he didn't need one – his aflame face told Udon all he wanted to know. And then Konohamaru slumped. That surprised Udon.

"Hey! What's with the face? Shouldn't you be actually happy?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Dude, did you ever think for a second WHY Hanabi changed her style?"

"Ugh... image change?"

Udon facepalmed.

"Yeah, but why?" Konohamaru remained quiet, so Udon continued. "Don't you think it might be a sign that she might like you back?"

Strangely, Konohamaru remained calm and seemed to consider it for a moment.

"I doubt it she likes anyone. And if she does it could be you for example. Or maybe even Ebisu" he said after a moment. Udon was just about to say something, but Konohamaru continued. "But I admit that me and her have become closer... that's why I'm not going to do anything stupid and risk ruining this. At least not yet."

"Still" Udon started after a moment. "I guess you should probably do something about-"

"Moegi" Konohamaru finished for him. "Don't remind me..."

There was silence after that and Udon used it to think about their current situation. Such small two-man missions have been happening more and more often lately. Was it a sign that the team was going to fall apart? Well, they could work in such small groups and they will probably become jounins at some point, so there was no other way he guessed. The question remained could they really work in such groups. Frankly, at first he thought that the way Naruto assigned today's missions was asking for a disaster. That's why he confronted Ebisu.

(* * *)

"Umm... sensei?"

"Yes, Udon-kun?"

"Are we really going to do those missions the way Naruto-san assigned it?" Udon asked.

Ebisu looked at him strangely. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Sensei" Udon started. "You're not going to tell me you don't know... or at least suspect the reason behind Hanabi's change" he said and pointed at Konohamaru, who was currently busy watching the hips of two girls as they were walking away, clearly entranced by the slight swaying.

"Of course not, I'm perceptive enough to know such things" Ebisu replied. "But I think Naruto's decision was a wise one."

That actually managed to confuse Udon.

"What do you mean 'a wise one'? What's wise in sending two competing girls on one mission like that?"

"Tell me, Udon-kun" Ebisu interjected. "What would've happened if one of them was paired with you and the other one was paired with Konohamaru?"

Udon was silent for a moment, but before he could answer Ebisu continued.

"I'll tell you what would happen. The girl who would be paired with Konohamaru would likely be a source of unprofessional behavior, trying to take advantage and show off. It could very much jeopardize the mission. And the one that would be paired with you would worry and get nervous. The end result would be the same."

"Um... it might be true for Moegi, but Hanabi is true to the duties of a shinobi."

"You should've already realized that Hanabi is weak with things like socializing or matters of the heart. Trust me, she is actually more prone to screwing up in such situations than Moegi is."

"Still... won't they... um... hurt each other?"

"I don't think so" Ebisu shook his head. "They have just been tasked with a mission and they both want to complete it, because if they fail, Konohamaru would be disappointed. They won't be stupid enough to sabotage each others progress. Quite the opposite – they will both try their best to outdo the other. We could actually see the best mission performance displayed by Moegi so far... of course assuming that our guess is correct."

"Guess?" Udon asked. "Isn't it an obvious love triangle?"

"Sometimes nothing is really what it seems. But I also think you're right in you assumptions."

"Um... and you're not going to do anything about it?"

"Me? No. As long as they do their shinobi duties it is not my concern. Too much of a pain. If they screw things up however, then they'll have to deal with me. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

Ebisu put his hand on his glasses and lifted them just enough for Udon to see his eyes.

"I'm not sure 'triangle' is accurate enough at this point."

Udon groaned. He walked right into that one, didn't he?

(* * *)

"Finally!" Konohamaru's voice brought Udon back to reality.

"What do you mean 'finally'" Udon asked, seeing bandits arrive seemingly from nowhere. "You've just lost 500 ryou!"

"It doesn't matter" Konohamaru replied. "There's finally some action! I knew that not covering our cargo, transforming into defenseless girl and baiting the fate would lure some idiots out!"

Udon sighed. Those guys didn't know what they were bargaining for. Oh well... it'll be good for Konohamaru to blow off some steam.

(* * *)

Yamaguchi and Fukuda were large and quite wealthy families with a long and distinct history, more often then not focused on conflict. Their numerous squabbles were widely known as well as the fact that a good deal of those ended with violence. The members of both families were not stupid enough to fight on their own, so they were usually using mercenaries.

This time around the dispute was about some stretch of land along with several residences built there, currently in possession of the Yamaguchi family. Fukuda, however, claimed their right to the land, backed by some legal documents, which were deemed false by Yamaguchi.

At that point it didn't matter who was right, the fact remained that enraged Fukuda gave the Yamaguchi a two-days ultimatum to concede or the blood will be shed. In truth, Fukuda needed that time to gather a fighting force. The money spent this way along with the promise of being able to plunder the land allowed the Fukuda to hire dozens of mercenaries. Including their regular guards this totaled over a sixty men.

Yamaguchi had not enough time or funds to do the same, so they just sent a call to Konoha, asking for a few experienced ninja to be sent straight to the land of conflict. They thought that such a group could set traps and work from the shadows to destroy the enemy. The Fukuda got wind of this and planned to overwhelm the enemy with numbers. However, when the Fukuda mercenaries arrived on the scene they've realized that the enemy ninjas must've been good at hiding, because they could see no traps and no ninjas.

Just two teenage girls.

Still, this could be a bait, a trap, so the mercenaries moved slowly, as to not get caught in that trap.

Unfortunately, the trap caught them.

And a minute later they were already being decimated.

(* * *)

"Alright, I take some of it back" Konohamaru said. "This kind of missions are good once in a while."

"Finally, you're talking sense" Udon told him.

"But I am still angry with Naruto-niichan. He chose such mission arrangement on purpose!"

Of course he did, Udon thought and then he turned to Konohamaru.

"And you still owe me 500 ryou."

"I know, I know, you don't have to remind me every five minutes!"

"Look on the bright side" Udon said, making Konohamaru look at him questioningly. "Your betting skill make you worthy of the title of Hokage" before Udon could finish he was already forced to dodge an attack from his friend.

After that there was silence, Konohamaru even seemed offended. Udon smiled inwardly and the resumed his previous musings – wondering how the more feminine part of his team was currently faring.

(* * *)

The area was littered with weapons, most of them were swords, ranging from wakizashis and regular katanas to oodachis, but one could also find bou and jou staffs, several yaris, a few tonfas, three naginatas, two sets of nunchaku, one pair of sais and even a kusarigama.

However, there was one more type of weapon currently lying on the ground that was much more numerous that any other one.

And that were humans.

Not that any of them were dead. Actually, none of them was mortally or even seriously wounded and only few were currently unconscious. However, it was true that some of them had their pressure points closed and at least one was most likely permanently sterile.

But, to be fair, quite a lot of them were still standing. Some were even trying to attack.

"Die!" the man screamed, possibly because he felt safer charging as the second one. Unfortunately, that proved to be his doom, because Moegi jumped, dodging the sword of the first guy, then used his shoulder for balance. Her foot, enhanced by chakra and strengthened by the twist of her hips and momentum gained from the jump connected with the second man's face. The first guy turned around perfectly, just in time to receive a chakra-enhanced fist to his face.

So much for no serious injuries.

Moegi landed and bounced immediately intending to attack the five mercenaries to her left, but she almost tripped when she saw that the men were already on the ground.

The only one standing was Hanabi, with mostly peaceful, yet slightly proud and arrogant look on her face. The gust of wind and the sight of the torn dirt around the girl only confirmed that she has used her Kaiten just now.

Hanabi noticed the look on Moegi's face. "Is something wrong?"

"You should focus on the mission instead of trying to show off" Moegi commented, her voice holding only a little bit of venom. "Konohamaru isn't around, you know?" she added for good measure.

"Show off?" Hanabi repeated, her voice calm and challenging. "I'm trying to get this mission over with as quickly as possible using the best of my abilities. Don't blame me on your lack of combat skills."

"My combat skills are fine, thank you very much. It's you who are a combat monster" she performed a back kick, hitting the man who was just trying to sneak up on her. "Which makes me think about those 'gentle fist' style of yours."

"What about it?" Hanabi asked, throwing a shuriken over her shoulder, her Byakugan enabling her to hit another mercenary right between his eyes, followed by a painful scream.

"It's just that it's purpose is to cause internal bleeding, damage, pain and death" Moegi replied. "Just a really gentle way to make a prolonging suffering."

"Are you planning to get to the point anytime soon?" Hanabi was slowly, but surely losing her patience, as evidenced by her next victim, who fell to the ground with a broken arm.

"I'm just wondering how gentle you would be at daily tasks. You know, making dinner, handling children and so on. Oh... I can already see those broken plates."

That was a heavy hit, but Hanabi was prepared nonetheless. "Oh right... because you have so nice and kind temper" she replied. "No short fuse at all."

"Don't twist my words around! Admit it. You don't have anything else to show off beside your combat skills! And maybe your family status."

"Isn't my body one of my good points?" Hanabi asked while turning on the spot, a strange thing to do on the battlefield. "I think I'm not that bad. Or maybe you're just jealous?"

Moegi groaned in response, indicating that Hanabi managed to fool her.

Actually, Moegi's comment hit home. In truth, Hanabi didn't have much good points beside her shinobi skills. Even her family name wasn't as strong now as it used to be when she was considered the clan's heiress. She was bossy, arrogant and, as Moegi said, not gentle in the most common meaning of the world. She definitely wasn't a good girlfriend material... not even to mention being a housewife (not that she wanted to be one!)

Hanabi meant what she said – all was fair in love and war, so she changed her style to at least let Konohamaru know that she could be (somewhat) feminine. Not that it was going well, it was lucky enough she managed to obtain such an outfit on such short notice. Of course, it wouldn't be possible without the help of on Yamanaka Ino. In the beginning Hanabi was definitely against the idea of asking the blonde for help, but Hinata convinced her (how did she do that again? And why did Hanabi even ask her sister for help?). Honestly, Hanabi expected the entire Konoha to gossip about her by now, but nothing like that happened. What's more, she remembered Ino saying "good luck" when the Hyuuga sisters were leaving.

Well, the Konoha might not be gossiping, but the people WERE looking at her strangely this morning. No wonder though, she looked kinda silly. It was good thing that Hinata was there to stop Ino before she overdid something. All in all, it wasn't like Hanabi disliked her current clothes or was against those slight changes in her hairdo... she just wasn't used to it and she believed it to be mostly useless – beauty and charm wasn't her strong suit and she definitely wasn't cute with her temper (not that she wanted to be cute).

So the bottom line was that Hanabi wasn't pretty. She knew it and Moegi knew it too. But the fact remained that Moegi wasn't stunning-looking herself, at least in Hanabi's opinion.

"Don't think you're some shinobi prodigy" Moegi wasn't giving up. "The higher you get, the heavier you fall!"

"Are you questioning my skills again?"

Moegi smiled and retrieved a kunai. "Of course, I have been training, don't underestimate my resolve!"

"Alright, you're on" Hanabi threw a shuriken at her, but it collided with the kunai launched by Moegi. After that both girls charged at each other, but before they could clash a man appeared out of nowhere, two large swords in his hands.

"I WON'T BE DEFEATED BY TWO LITTLE GIRLS!" he shouted and swung both swords above his head. "DIE!"

Both swords were stopped, however, when Moegi and Hanabi caught each of his wrists.

"You're in the way" they both said, while sending one gentle and one strong fist to his jaw. "GET LOST!"

(* * *)

"So all three missions have been accomplished without any significant problems. Moreover, I have heard that Yamaguchi household was very impressed with your skill and increased their original payment. I knew it wouldn't be an easy task, but I am happy that you managed to achieve such performance, just as I predicted" Ebisu finished.

The entire team was currently sitting in one of Konoha restaurants. Ebisu was looking mostly normal, maybe except the gleam of pride in his eyes. Konohamaru and Udon were fine as well, but they both looked at each other and then turned back to look at Moegi and Hanabi.

The former had some bruises and her attire was a little disheveled, accompanied with somewhat peeved look on her face. The letter was seemingly in a much better mood, even though she sported several marks on her face, as if someone has clawed on it during some struggle. And Udon could bet it wasn't done by enemy mercenaries.

"Thank you, sensei" both girls answered and then looked at each other surprised.

"Ah, look at the time" Ebisu exclaimed. "Excuse me, but I have to tend to my other jounin duties, we're seeing each other tomorrow at seven, team!"

"I wonder, does he really has that much duties as a full-fledged jounin?" Moegi asked once their sensei was out of earshot.

"Nah" Konohamaru answered. "I bet he just didn't want to pay for all of this" he gestured to the empty plates strewn on the table, most of them courtesy of Konohamaru alone. "One does not simply forget Naruto-niichan eating habits, so I kind of understand sensei here" he sighed. "I guess I'm too similar to Naruto after all."

"Umm..." Hanabi started, a little flush on her cheeks. "If you want, I can pay for you..."

"Stop joking" Konohamaru answered while retrieving his wallet, but he also sported a slight blush. "I can't have a girl paying for me, even if it's a teammate."

"Well, I don't mind you paying for me" Moegi told the Hyuuga, while looking away, unable to see the glare Hanabi was giving her.

Udon leaned to the side, speaking to one of the waiters.

"Anyway, that was some great meal" Konohamaru commented. "How about we call it a day?" in truth it was only mid-afternoon, but Konohamaru sensed the tension between the girls and had to do something about it.

"Call it a day?" Udon questioned, not getting Konohamaru's intent or just plainly ignoring it. "You don't have some chuunin duties to do?"

Konohamaru grinned. "Nope! I'm free to do anything I like and-"

"Aren't you forgetting about something?" Hanabi interjected, getting the attention of the remaining trio. "Something you promised me?"

"Umm..." Konohamaru mumbled out, clearly aware of Udon and Moegi looking at him in question. "No, I don't remember..."

"You promised me special training sessions" Hanabi reminded him.

"Oh yeah, I did promise you that" Konohamaru replied, slumping a little under Moegi's gaze.

"Why haven't I heard of that before?" Udon asked, sparring everyone from having Moegi scream the same question.

"Because those are private training sessions. Just me and Konohamaru" Hanabi replied her voice uncharacteristically cheery. "So how about it?" she turned back to Konohamaru. "You're not going to go back on your word, are you?" she added with a small and not-so-innocent smile tugging on her lips.

"Umm... no, of course I'm not and-"

"Great" Hanabi interrupted him. "Then let's go."

"Umm... now?"

"Yes, now."

A minute later Udon was watching Hanabi almost dragging Konohamaru away after paying for both their meals.

"Well, that's probably not going to end without injuries" he commented.

"Whatever" Moegi tried to act nonchalant.

"How about some dessert?" Udon asked smiling. "My treat."

Moegi looked at him suspiciously and then sighed.

"Well if you insist... I want anmitsu, a mochi cake and manjuu, so let's call the waiter and-"

Before she was finished the waiter appeared, placing a big plate filled with exactly what she asked for in front her.

"Thank you very much" Udon told the waiter.

Moegi looked at the plate then at the waiter and then at Udon, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Let's just say I know you well" Udon said smiling.

"Hmpf!" Moegi turned to the side, her face flushed. She stayed like that stubbornly for a few seconds and then grabbed her fork and started eating.

"Thanks..."

"No problem" Udon answered. This was already a good day and it could turn even better yet. At least for him.

Because, knowing Hanabi, her personality and training habits, this could turn to be either a really good or really bad day for Konohamaru.

**(* * *)**

**Well, one could say nothing much is happening in this chapter (except for a girl cat fight off screen of course), mostly talking and inner thoughts... but that's what this part of the story is about. So, if someone is expecting fast-paced adventure action... well...**

**And Hanabi's beautiful. Somebody just has to get it through her thick skull.**

**Oh... and if you can't imagine Hanabi's new clothes (especially the sleeves) take a look at River Tam from the Serenity movie (or Firefly series). Especially her blue and brown dresses. Of course Hanabi's a little different and she wears a skirt instead of a dress.**

**Also today's chapter is brought to you by Kung fu panda. And by Kuchiki Byakuya, Zaraki Kenpachi and Yammy Llargo from Bleach... kind of.**


	24. Birds and visits

**Hello everyone, I'm back, alive and kicking.**

**First, I am very for being "late", but it's new semester and I have a lot of work (and I'm lazy to boot). Let's just say it was difficult to put these chapter together. In exchange you get over 10 thousand words, not counting the author's notes.**

**(And of course, the chapter was intended for 4000 words tops.)**

**Next, I would like to address some of the reviews. First, someone pointed out that Hanabi seems OOC at times. That's partially true, as my Hanabi's definitely different from the one in the manga/anime. Furthermore, I have ideas for at least few different-personality Hanabis. Maybe I'll use them in another story... if I ever write one. Second, the huge part of the story is about Hanabi changing herself and change will always be OOC, because that what it's all about.**

**Also someone said something about a "forceful Hanabi". Well, I personally consider Hanabi's reactions and inability to (gently) handle certain situations interesting to read. However, I will not deny that not every part of this fanfiction happened exactly as I envisioned it. I am just an amateur after all and I'm sorry for that.**

**And I want to thank the reviewer (the review itself might not be visible yet) that was "praying for an update". Your prayer was heard out it seems :)**

**The good news is that I have (quite accidentally) managed to figure out a great deal of important plot points and in result we are getting close to the ending. Just up to few more chapters, depending on the length of particular chapters.**

**The bad news is that I need additional effort to make sure that the plot is consistent, so next chapter will probably appear in a month (around 4th of April, I presume).**

**Onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto and me are different, since he owns Naruto and I don't... However, we both seem to have strange ideas for plots in our stories...**

**(* * *)**

Konohamaru was walking throughout the streets of Konoha. He was neither following Hanabi, nor walking next to her, but rather he kept half a step behind her. This way he was still technically walking with her, but now he could also take a good look at her without risk of her noticing it.

Without much risk anyway.

Konohamaru still couldn't wrap his head around the changes in the young Hyuuga's attire. The thing was that it wasn't strange for a kunoichi to wear such clothes. Especially in Konoha. Yes, Hanabi's clothes weren't your typical clothes. They were kind of original and, Konohamaru could bet, were of high quality, definitely not something you could buy just anywhere.

And the clothes weren't even revealing. Yes, they accentuated Hanabi's... womanly curves very well, but that was it. Well, almost. The most "vital" areas were of course covered (but still emphasized), but he could see her exposed shoulders just fine. The same applied for Hanabi's neck and, Konohamaru just realized, she had quite a beautiful neck. Her skirt was waving back and forth, revealing her legs once in a while and Konohamaru couldn't decide whether it was a good or bad thing. Whatever... the point was that such an outfit wasn't anything indecent in the ninja world. Konohamaru had personally seen kunoichis with much more... suggestive clothes on kunoichis from every nation, Lands of Wind and Earth included.

All in all, the only reason this was strange was because of Hanabi itself, which brought Konohamaru that made Konohamaru both curious and nervous, wary to steal more than a glance – why did Hanabi did a thing like that. Was it to bait him? Or to tease him? The first seemed more logical, as Konohamaru was positive that the girl didn't know how he felt about her. Hell, he himself didn't fully understand it.

He remembered what Udon suggested, but it only made Konohamaru worried. If Hanabi did like someone from their team it was still possible that it was Udon or even Ebisu. Yes, it was ridiculous and implausible, but still more probable than Hanabi liking him. She wasn't taking too well to his behavior after all, even though she kind of accepted him as the leader.

"-alright?"

"Huh?" Konohamaru mumbled out and noticed that Hanabi was looking at him curiously.

"Are you alright?" she repeated patiently and Konohamaru was slightly surprised by her gentle voice.

"Yeah, I just kinda spaced out. Sorry."

Hanabi remained still for a moment, possibly considering saying something, but then resumed walking as if nothing happened. Konohamaru blinked and followed after her.

And only then he realized something.

"Weren't we supposed to go training?" he asked, slowly getting suspicious about her agenda.

"We are" she answered simply.

"But... I don't remember this road leading to any training grounds."

"It is" she informed him. "It isn't a public training ground though."

Konohamaru looked at her surprised. Not a public one? A private one then? What could she mean by that? Unless she was referring to... no, she couldn't possibly...

"Ok, we're here" she told him, while she continued to walk forward. Konohamaru on the other hand stopped dead in his tracks, gazing at their destination. The red-on-yellow flame symbol, the same that was visible on Hanabi's back, made it clear as to where they were.

"The Hyuuga compound?" he asked.

"Yeah" Hanabi answered, a small smile was playing on her lips. She turned to him asking "Is something the matter?"

"Umm... no... it's just... is it really alright for me to go in there?" he asked while pointing to the gates with armed shinobi standing guard.

"If you're my guest then it's no problem" Hanabi replied.

Konohamaru wasn't so sure about that, because the two guards were briefly alarmed, but settled down when Hanabi raised her hand. They greeted Hanabi and then let both of them through, though they continued to watch the two teens with looks of slight curiosity.

Once they were through Konohamaru sighed a sigh of relief, but if he hoped that inside the gates it would be better then he was wrong. On the other side the guards were present as well and even more were moving about throughout the compound. Those guards were no longer trying to stop them, but their reactions were becoming more and more... weird. Konohamaru was receiving looks ranging from confusion to clear disbelief. One guard even watched them with something akin to silent understanding, like he knew something Konohamaru didn't, which made the boy nervous.

Hanabi on the other hand seemed quiet relaxed, guiding Konohamaru though something like a garden, going around the main clan building... mansion, castle, palace... whatever it was. Konohamaru was of course aware of the status of the Hyuugas, but it seemed he have underestimated them. Hanabi must've noticed his bewildered expression because she chuckled or at least he thought she did. He was about to ask her about it, when he heard a new voice.

"Hanabi-san?"

The girl in question halted abruptly, almost making Konohamaru crash into her and then she turned.

"Um... good afternoon Hibari-san" she said, bowing slightly.

In front of her stood a person looking like your textbook example of a Hyuuga male teenager. He looked somewhat similar to a more emotionally-detached version of Sai, if that was even possible.

"Good afternoon" the boy bowed his head in reply to Hanabi's. And then he noticed Konohamaru.

"And who is your friend?" he asked, though Konohamaru sensed that for this person "friend" meant something more like minion.

"Ah yes" Hanabi replied, her voice somewhat strained and then she promptly grabbed Konohamaru's arm and pulled him closer, much closer to her, this time actually making him bump into her. "This is Sarutobi Konohamaru" she introduced him. "You know, from the famous Sarutobi clan."

"The clan of the Third Hokage?" Hibari asked, his eyes widening slightly.

"The very one" Hanabi confirmed before Konohamaru had a chance to say something. "Konohamaru is, in fact, the grandson of the Third Hokage" she continued. "He's my teammate and also, as you correctly guessed, my friend" the way she said "friend" clearly indicated that she was mocking the way Hibari said the word. This kinda made Konohamaru proud.

If Hanabi's remark was meant as an insult then Hibari didn't get it or plainly ignored it.

"The grandson of a Hokage, huh?" the Hyuuga boy repeated. "I guess your clan is expecting a lot of you then, it must be quite a burden."

"Worry not" Hanabi again replied quickly. "Konohamaru is proving to be a very strong shinobi and a capable leader."

"Leader, huh? Are you aiming to be a clan leader then, Konohamaru-san?" Hibari's question was obviously directed at Konohamaru, though the Hyuuga boy continued to gaze at Hanabi. Konohamaru wondered whether he should answer when he felt Hanabi squeeze his arm a little as if encouraging him.

This was all he needed.

"No" he answered flatly in a confident tone half-way between a quiet one and his normal loud voice. "I aim for something bigger. I will be the Seventh Hokage of Konoha."

"The Seventh? And what-"

"The Sixth will be Uzumaki Naruto" Konohamaru proudly announced.

This managed to visibly disturb Hibari who turned to Hanabi. "You won't tell me you believe this, Hanabi-san?"

"Of course I do" she answered, her voice a little less gentle. "And I believe that, with a little supervision, Konohamaru and Naruto-sama will be wonderful Hokages."

At this point Konohamaru knew that something was up. Hanabi? Supporting his dream? Why? Was it the reason she brought him here? It seemed unlikely, judging by her surprise when she saw Hibari. The Hyuuga man, however, must have understood what Konohamaru didn't, because he moved his gaze back and forth between both teens before he spoke.

"I see" his eyes narrowed slightly. He was now practically glaring at Hanabi and she glared right back at him. The both of them remained like that for a moment and Konohamaru could almost see bolts of lightning clashing in the air between them. Finally, Hibari opened his mouth to speak, but Hanabi beat him to it.

"It was nice talking to you, Hibari-san, but Konohamaru and me have some things to do. Teammates stuff, you know? Let's go, Konohamaru-_kun_."

"Very well, I will see you around, Hanabi-san" Hibari answered, but by this time Hanabi has already all but disappeared, dragging Konohamaru away with her.

(* * *)

"I'm sorry" Hanabi spoke up when they were far enough. "I didn't want to do this, but I did kinda use you. Sorry."

"Ugh, no problem" he said, fully aware that Hanabi was still holding onto his arm. She noticed this too and quickly yanked her hand back.

"What was that about, anyway? Who is this Hibari fellow?" he said it without thinking and realized he might've asked something private.

"Hibari's one of my distant cousins" Hanabi explained. "He's from the Hyuuga main house."

"Wait a moment. Then does that mean that he is... more... um..."

"More important than me now? Not really" Hanabi replied and resumed walking. "He might be from the main house, but he is pretty low-ranking. I'm in the branch house, but I'm high-ranking and the daughter of the current clan head. I'd say we're pretty even as far as clan politics go."

"So, what happened back there?" he started, careful not to make some blunder. "Are you guys something like rivals?"

For the third time today he almost walked into Hanabi when she stopped.

"Hanabi?"

"He's been trying to court me..."

"Court you?" Konohamaru asked, not really understanding.

And then it hit him.

"Yes, considering current state of the clan and the recent changes he figured that he would be a good husband material to me and, of course, he considered me a great wife material from quite some time. Thank Kami I had the right to refuse."

"So you don't-"

"Like him?" Hanabi asked, turning over her shoulder to look at him. Konohamaru nodded weakly. "Of course not. I never liked him, even back when I was... less free" she struggled to say it. "And I like him even less now. I'd rather marry an Akimichi."

"You said you 'used me', right?" Konohamaru tried to change the topic.

"Yeah, to make him lose interest. I'm sorry."

"You mean" Konohamaru's brain was slowly connecting all the important dots. "That he lost interest because he thought that you and me..."

He wasn't able to finish his thought, but Hanabi seemed to understand, because he could see her ears and neck turn red. Or at least he hoped it was a blush, because if it was anger then he was dead meat.

"Yeah..." she answered. "Sorry about that."

Well, at least she considered him better than this Hibari fellow. And at least as good as an Akimichi. It wasn't much, but it was something. And, though he knew she was only pretending, he felt his heart skip a beat when she called him Konohamaru-kun.

"No problem" he told her, though his voice was shaky. "That's what friends are for right?"

Hanabi was certain that such things were beyond simple friendship, but she kept quiet, her heart already threatening to burst out of her chest, both literally and figuratively. Fortunately, they have finally arrived at their destination.

"Here we are" she informed him.

Konohamaru looked around, spotting quite large and secluded space serving as a training ground. The Hyuuga clan mark was placed on the cobblestone, but it was barely visible, because the ground was in terrible shape, as most of the things around.

"Umm..." Konohamaru started. "Don't take it the wrong way, but-"

"But this doesn't look like your idea of Hyuuga training area, does it?" she asked him. Her voice was calm, and seemingly neutral, though Konohamaru could sense a cheerful and jesting edge to it, something he could not pick on before. Could he be learning how to figure out her emotions even with her mask on.

"Yeah" he replied.

"Well, that's because we use it to train with explosive tags, Kaiten, destructive things like that" she explained. "On normal training grounds we practice taijutsu, Juuken, concentration, you know, typical Hyuuga skills."

He nodded.

"Alright, let's get started" she told him and turned around. She already had her Byakugan activated and Konohamaru knew what was coming. Few seconds later he realized that having parts of his chakra network shut down by Hanabi was much less painful when she wasn't angry at him.

But it still hurt.

"You can start by doing some exercises and then we will spar" she told him.

Konohamaru didn't object, this was training after all. So he started exercising his body, but also his senses, constantly observing his surroundings – he feared that Hibari or, what's worse, Hiashi would pop up at any moment and give him a piece of their mind.

But he noticed nothing like that. However, he did notice that Hanabi was watching him. At first he dismissed it (except for the obvious nervousness it caused), understanding that it was normal for her to supervise him, but then he noticed she was watching him a bit too closely. Her eyes followed his every movement, but he could bet she wasn't analyzing his training technique. Instead, her gaze was a little unfocused, her mouth parted ever so slightly and she tilted her head to the side in curiosity, her face surprisingly peaceful.

His feeling of insecurity subsided, replaced by his pranking nature and his started to slack off on purpose and she didn't even scowl. Konohamaru then looked at her, his eyebrows raised questioningly. It wasn't very clear, much less verbal question, but Hanabi seemed to understand it, because she got out of her daze, stood up and moved to the side to do some training on her own.

Konohamaru watched her out of the corner of his eye, hoping she would start doing some basic exercises and maybe even some stretching, but she began her Rasengan training instead. She still couldn't get past the second stage, at least she could now sense when the chakra was reaching the critical point and she stopped the technique instead of letting it explode violently. Konohamaru continued to watch her for a moment, but then he returned to his warm-up, figuring that it wasn't good idea to be lazy when she was getting frustrated and had her all-seeing eyes turned on.

He wasn't too eager to spar with her when she obviously had no luck with mastering the Rasengan and he pretty much knew he wouldn't be able to focus on the battle, but after fifteen more minutes he could no longer postpone it, so he stood up and walked up to her.

"Umm.. " he started. She seemed completely immersed in her task, but when he spoke she reacted immediately, turning around to him with a coy smile, her Byakugan focused directly on him.

"Yes?"

"I think I'm ready to spar" he informed her, though he doubted he was ready.

"Very well" without further ado she dropped into a Juuken fighting stance and promptly lunged at him.

Battle ensued and it wasn't an even one, as Konohamaru was cut off from most of his chakra and battle techniques, forcing him to rely on basic ninja stuff. What made it harder was that he couldn't really hide and take a break because of her Byakugan. Hanabi's strikes were precise as ever and even though she wasn't using enough chakra to cause real injury, her attacks were still painful and could render him breathless for a moment.

He had also noticed that her clothes didn't hinder her in combat at all. Quite the opposite – her sleeves were covering her hands, making it more difficult to figure out when and where she would strike. And when she was spinning the loose parts of her clothes were flying around and merging into one purple blur of fabric. He was really trying to tear his eyes off her swan-like acrobatics and focus on the combat, but it was proving difficult and he was slowly being pushed into a corner, where he would be crushed, as evident by a glint in Hanabi's eyes.

"Oi, easy, easy" he told her. "Aren't you taking this a little too seriously?"

"Don't be stupid" she answered, not losing focus for even a moment. "Are you expecting you're enemy to go easy on you?"

"No" he replied. "In truth, I have expected for you to put your back into it."

"Are you suggesting I'm not trying to hurt you hard enough?" Hanabi questioned, her tone with a hint of a threat.

"Oh no, you trying well enough" he shot back. "Let me guess, you're doing it because Hibari-san is watching you, right?"

"What?!" she exclaimed and her face turned into a mix of horror and disgust. She grabbed the fist that was coming at her and pulled, knocking Konohamaru off balance. Then she spun around.

"Where is that stupid jerk?" she asked, frantically looking around... only to realize that she had her Byakugan and would have noticed Hibari if he was watching them. She did notice Konohamaru getting behind her though, but she reacted too late.

"Got ya!" he shouted and performed a leg sweep, managing to knock her down. She was up quickly, but Konohamaru was already advancing, a multitude of blows raining down at her. Without enough time to perform her dodging ballet, she was slowly being pushed back and soon found herself in a corner.

"That was dirty!" she told him, when he stopped his onslaught momentarily.

"Excuse me" Konohamaru told her while smiling, no, grinning. "It was just me, training my deceiving skills."

"Like hell it was!" she responded, Hanabi's hair stood up, defying gravity in an obvious display of anger. "I'll kick your ass!" and with this she attacked him, putting more power into her strikes... only to hear him laugh.

"You think it's funny? Let's see if you'll be able to laugh after this!" she told him, the power of her Juuken going up another notch, but Konohamaru only continued to laugh. It was good to know, that he could make her mask crack like that and make her reveal her current mood to him.

(* * *)

"Okay... I give up... momentarily" he told her five minutes later when he was on the ground, his stomach hurting after her last kick. It was both a jumping kick and a spinning kick, thus resulting in great power. It was slow however and normally he would dodge something like that easily, but in his current condition... let's just say it was a good thing she didn't enhance it with chakra.

"Hmpf!" Hanabi replied, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away, still visibly fuming, which only made Konohamaru chuckle. All of her personas: the though and stoic mask, her angry and proud exterior or her gentle and flustered interior, he seriously didn't know which one of them he liked the most anymore.

She might be really angry now, though. Good thing he knew exactly how to appease her.

"So" he started. "I guess I need to fulfill my end of the bargain now, right?"

At this Hanabi visibly twitched, although remained unmoving for a few more seconds. So she still tried to hide it, Konohamaru thought. He wondered if she was even aware how obvious it was. Probably not...

"Yeah" she finally answered and turned back, no longer able to hide her curiosity.

"So" she came closer and crouched next to him. "I want you to help me learn sh-"

"Forget about the Kage Bunshin for today" he interrupted her.

"Whaaa?" she exclaimed, clearly surprised. "Why? You're not going to give me that "you don't have enough chakra" crap, right?"

"No" he answered her. "The Tajuu Kage Bunshin would be too much, but the regular Kage Bunshin should be alright. Especially with your efficient chakra control."

"So why?" she asked him, now her voice clearly laced with disappointment she would not show to just anyone, he was sure of that.

"Because" he started. "This is not your typical jutsu where you mostly rely on the correct handseal sequences or where you don't use handseals at all" he explained. "Here you have only one handseal and you're manipulating actual bodies. If you mess up you can hurt you REAL body."

He stopped to observe Hanabi bit her bottom lip in thought.

"I get it, but I still don't understand WHY you can't start teaching me now."

"I learned this jutsu some time ago and I use it instinctively now. I don't remember all the steps written in the forbidden scroll."

"So how you even intended to teach it to me?"

"Simply, I would have gone to my home and brought the scroll, if you had just given me a few minutes instead of dragging me here."

"Ugh... sorry" she mumbled out, her face reddening. "Wait a moment... you said the forbidden scroll. So how did you get it?"

"It's not 'forbidden scroll', it's 'scroll with forbidden techniques'. And I don't have the entire scroll, only copy with info about the Kage Bunshin. I got it from my grandfather back when I was stupid enough to believe I could master the Kage Bunshin."

"So... how did Naruto learn it?"

"Easy. He stole it from my grandfather's house when he was graduating academy."

"Uzumaki Naruto broke into your grandfather's house?" Hanabi asked and Konohamaru nodded.

"The Third Hokage's residence?" she asked again.

"Yes."

"Didn't the Third try to... I don't know, stop Naruto?"

"Well, he did. But Naruto defeated him."

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yes."

"Defeated the Third Hokage, The professor, The God of Shinobi?"

"Yes."

"At age fifteen?"

"Twelve."

At this point Hanabi had her mouth wide open. After a moment she said one word.

"How?"

"You wouldn't believe me" he answered. He was NOT going to tell her about Oiroke no Jutsu.

"Speaking of Hokages, did you really mean it back then?" Konohamaru asked and seeing that Hanabi didn't understand continued. "About me being a wonderful Hokage."

Hanabi first looked at him,her eyes wide open, after which she close them and assumed one of those I-am-better-than-you faces.

"W-well, it would be definitely hard and take a long time..." she started. "And you'd need a competent set of advisors... that's for sure... b-but I think it would be possible for you to become H-Hokage... probably" she added. She was still hanging her nose high, a testament to her pride, but the effect was spoiled by her stuttering.

Konohamaru didn't know what to say, so he settled on a simple "Thanks."

"No problem" she replied quickly.

"So" Konohamaru started after a moment of silence. "I how about you resume you Rasengan training?"

Hanabi sighed. "You've seen how it was going, right?"

"Maybe you should just try less amount of power and do a smaller Rasengan."

"Wouldn't it be useless then?" she asked, but a glint in her eyes told Konohamaru that it was a good idea. "And it wouldn't be a real Rasengan, right?"

"We don't know until we try. With your, let's face it, unique chakra control you could turn it into a concealed and quick weapon. We can call it Mini-Rasengan. Think about it: your own signature jutsu no-one else can perform."

She bit her lip in though.

"Fine" she said finally, standing up and preparing to create the technique.

"I just need to create a small version of the Rasengan, right?"

"Yeah, I would say one tenth of its original size" he told her, watching as she performed the first step. "A little smaller... a little more... yeah, I think that's it."

Hanabi looked at the spinning chakra on her palm which was looking... pathetic. Nothing close to the dangerous vibe of the original Rasengan, not mentioning the Oodama version (which she still remembered).

"Okay" she said, shaking off those gloomy thoughts. "Now for the next step..."

Hanabi started concentrating, trying to increase the power output. She was prepared for failure, but nothing like that happened. And then she realized she succeeded. It wasn't easy, but she succeeded.

"Good. Now you can start with the third step" Konohamaru confirmed. "It's supposed to be the hardest one, but since it's about control then I think you should be able to clear it with no problem."

"Okay, what do I do?" she asked.

"Try to make the the chakra into a dense ball. The shape should be sharp and clearly defined" he told her. "And you have to keep the rotation and the power at the top level."

She nodded, took a deep breath and then went to work. It wasn't as simple as Konohamaru mentioned – she failed several times, but after each time she managed to hold it longer and slowly the technique started to take shape.

Fifteen minutes later she could finally say it. She did it. It was only a Mini-Rasnegan, but she did it... even if the compressed jutsu looked even smaller. The funny thing was now that it was completed it almost didn't drain her chakra reserves, as the little hurricane was self-sustaining.

"Are you not going to say anything?" she asked Konohamaru.

"No, not until you test it out" he answered, pointing to one of the still usable dummies standing next to a partially destroyed wall.

Hanabi nodded and walked to the dummy, glanced one last time at Konohamaru and then slammed her mini-jutsu right into the dummy's stomach. She didn't effect much effect, but she though the jutsu would explode, but it started to grind into the target instead, making the dummy shake violently, after a moment the jutsu did explode, making the dummy slump forward and almost break, the small, but deep hole left by the technique clearly visible.

He could say it now. "Good work, Hanabi! It may not be mastered yet, but congratulations for learning your new technique!"

Hanabi didn't answer. Instead she raised her hand to her eyes. And then smiled. The same smile, he knew it, she smiled back at the end of the bell test. It made him smile as well.

(* * *)

Though Konohamaru said she learned the technique, it wasn't yet mastered and Hanabi was adamant on further improving and testing it. He had no reason to disagree – observing her train was enjoyable to say the least – but he didn't expect such results.

Hanabi quickly demonstrated that she could produce the Mini-Rasengan fairly quickly and in both hands. Without using her Byakugan of course. What surprised Konohamaru the most, however, was when Hanabi managed enough control to actually throw the jutsu like a kunai and it remain stable long enough to actually do damage. Hanabi told him that it was similar to Vacuum Palm technique (Konohamaru had been surprised to hear that the Hyuuga had some medium-range techniques), but she said she couldn't use it yet and it dit completely different damage than the Mini-Rasengan.

Next thing that Konohamaru noticed was that the physical training and its fruits had a good effect on Hanabi, as her mood was now surprisingly merry and he could almost feel the satisfaction in the air around her. Of course she showed it in Hanabi-specific way, still remaining mostly proud and collected. Yet, Konohamaru had a feeling she was actually close to leaping for joy or hugging him in gratitude.

Of course she didn't hug him. But what he felt must've been correct, because she had insisted to invite him inside the manor for him to take a shower. His common sense told him to decline the offer, but he had been kinda reeking after their training session. Hanabi had led him to one of the "smaller bathrooms" as she had put it. First he had thought she had wanted to gloat about her family wealth, but it didn't add up and then he had realized that it was the other way around – she probably didn't want him to see how the Hyuuga's main bathroom looked like.

However, none of this explained how he ended up where he currently was – sitting on a cushion beside a traditional low Japanese-style table with Hanabi sitting on the other side.

In her room.

It wasn't as if he didn't want to be here, it's just that it was too sudden and he didn't know what to do. And wasn't being invited to a girl's home kinda big step? Not very big, but if you were talking about a ninja clan with arranged marriages... Was it to further rub Hibari's wounds (if there even were any)? And it didn't help that some of the inhabitants of the manor have seen them and Konohamaru didn't mean just guards or servants, but 2 or 3 regular Hyuugas as well. They were giving the two teens more and more shocked looks. Not that he could blame them – he doubted Hanabi had many outside visitors in her life, but it was still weird. One person even opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it and walked away at the same time when an angry aura started to emit from Hanabi. Konohamaru was only praying they wouldn't be stopped by Hiashi. After meeting him in the Konoha hospital the boy thought they were on relatively good terms and he would rather have it stay that way.

In short: his temporarily lulled feeling of dread was back. With a vengeance. Maybe Hanabi WAS plotting something after all.

He started to look around her room, intending to keep himself busy and maybe figure out what Hanabi was thinking, but there was not much to look at, as her room was rather dull and practical. It didn't have much furniture, even the table was brought by one of the servants along with the snacks. The room did have a closet and drawers for clothes though, but they wasn't even half the size and number he has seen in Moegi's room.

Still, he was surprised to see two or three stuffed toys he'd won for her during the hanami festival still visible on one of the shelves. He was certain that there was more of them, but Hanabi probably hid them when she stepped into the room before letting him in. She must've missed those few ones though, which would explain her slightly embarrassed face and twitching eyebrow. Konohamaru looked at her and noticed that she seemed surprisingly stiff and nervous, not looking at him. It would be understandable if they were in his room, but not now. She appeared more even nervous than he was...

As for Hanabi herself, she was mentally kicking herself at the moment. After her success with the Mini-Rasengan she had kinda forgotten herself and gone with the flow, without planning ahead. This was actually happening a lot lately and more often than not it was around him. She had to face it: she had less and less control over her emotions and reactions.

She had used the time when he had been showering to wash as well and change her clothes into fresh ones. And here she was – sitting alone with a boy she kinda liked and with no idea how to proceed from here.

And she was fairly certain that somebody was eavesdropping behind her door, which irked her.

Konohamaru noticed the tension and decided to deal with it the only way he's known – with laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked him.

"Nothing."

"And that's an obvious lie."

"It's just... it's just like you to go without fear into combat, but get nervous when having guests."

"I. Am. Not. Nervous" she told him.

"Yeah, right, look who's lying now" he grinned. "But it's good to see you're getting better."

She blinked in response. "Getting better at what?"

"You know" he said not looking at her. "Interacting with people, working with others, speaking up your mind."

"You're saying I was terrible at it before?" she asked, feigning anger.

"No" he answered. "You weren't terrible, I mean not that much... ugh, I mean you were just proud and" he stopped when he heard her laugh out loudly.

"You're just messing with me, right?"

"Yes!" she answered.

"Still" she said when she managed to calm down. "I need to thank you. Without you I probably would've never changed."

"No need to thank us!" Konohamaru replied with a bright smile. "Its our job as a team!"

"Yes, but you know, when I said 'you' I didn't mean our entire team" she told him. "I mean yes, that too. Ebisu, Udon... Moegi. But mostly I meant just you. It was your attitude that helped me the most. Thank you for that."

"Ah... no problem."

Her comment must've left him embarrassed, because he looked away and started to nervously fiddle with his clothes instead of his usual scratch-back-of-the-head thing. He readjusted one particular article of clothing which made Hanabi blink in realization.

There was so little she knew about him and she managed to overlook this specific bit of information for so long. Maybe it was because of how trivial it was. In such case, however, there was no harm in asking.

"What's with the scarf?"

Konohamaru looked back at her, confused.

"Scarf?" he repeated.

"Yes, the blue scarf you are wearing" she pointed to the said scarf.

"Oh yeah" he replied. "What of it?"

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "That's exactly what I'm asking. Is there a reason you're always wearing it?"

"Why need a reason?" he asked, but she sensed he did it just for the sake of continuing the conversation.

"Wouldn't you feel kinda hot wearing it?" she pointed out. "We're living in the Land of Fire, after all."

He chuckled at her logic.

"You're right" he admitted.

"With it being hot or with there being a reason for the scarf?"

"Both" he answered, while grabbing his scarf and gently rubbing it with his hand. "So... what do you think is the reason?"

"You answer question with question?"

"Yeah... exactly as you did right now."

"But I asked first" she objected.

He chuckled again, confirming that he was only messing with her.

"Okay, I will give you a little hint" he took the scarf off, revealing it. "Do you think it's something a man would wear?"

"What do you" Hanabi started, but then realized something. She didn't know much about fashion and the like, but if it wasn' worn by a man then...

"This scarf" Konohamaru started. "Belonged to woman that is very precious to me."

This one comment was enough to break Hanabi's good mood into pieces. So it was a gift from some girl Konohamaru liked this much? Who was it? Was it Moegi? Or, what-was-her-name... Mayami?

"Who..."

"It belonged to my mother."

After that there was silence, during which Konohamaru continued to gaze at the scarf in his hand, while Hanabi looked at him. After a moment Konohamaru was brought from his stupor and smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I ended up telling you something weird. Umm... you seem my mother died long ago and my father..."

"...is not in the village, I know" she told him. She knew that saying it or hiding her knowledge from him were both wrong, so she settled on being honest from him.

His eyes widened.

"What do you mean 'I know'?" he asked.

"Um... Udon told me about it."

"Ahh..." Konohamaru's face lit up with understanding. "That sound just like him" he concluded with a small smile.

That surprised Hanabi. "You're not angry?"

"Huh? Me? No" he said back. "Udon is a smart guy. If he decided to tell you then he had to have a good-enough reason."

"Yeah, you're probably right" she told him and watched as he put the scarf back in place.

And then another silence ensued, but Hanabi wouldn't allow it. She was in fact opening her mouth to speak, when she heard another voice from outside the room.

"What are you all doing here" the voice said, clearly proving that indeed there was a group of people eavesdropping behind the door. Konohamaru was immediately alarmed and looked at Hanabi... who hid her face in her hands.

The door slide open.

"Hanabi, what's going on?" the person said and the stopped abruptly. Hanabi already knew it wasn't her father. But it was the next worst possible person.

Hinata remained in place for a moment of two, completely unmoving, safe for her eyes which traveled back and forth between Hanabi and Konohamaru. And then she looked over her shoulder.

"Don't you have anything to do?" she said to the two maids standing behind her. Of course the maids had some chores to do and quickly left. After that Hinata turned back to Hanabi and Konohamaru, a smile on her lips that could only be described as angelic, warm and kind.

Or devious.

"Pardon my rudeness" she said a sweet melodic voice, looking at Konohamaru. "I am Hyuuga Hinata, Hanabi's older sister. And who might you be?" Konohamaru was about to answer, but Hinata continued. "Oh... I know, you must be Konohamaru-kun, the one and only. Nice to meet you."

Konohamaru clearly didn't know how to react. "Ermm... Nice to meet you to... Hinata-san?"

"Oh just call me Hinata" she winked at him and stepped into the room. "So you're the famous Sarutobi Konohamaru, the Third's grandson and Hanabi's teammate, right? Did I forget to mention something important?"

"Yes" Hanabi drawled through her clenched teeth. "You forgot to mention the part when you barge into my room without permission."

"Thank you for taking care of my little sister" Hinata told Konohamaru, completely ignoring Hanabi's remark. "I know she can be a handful."

At this point Hanabi's was not able to decide whether she should kill her sister on the spot or hide in the corner and let the ground swallow her up in shame.

"Umm... excuse me" Konohamaru started. "What did you mean by me being 'famous'?"

Hinata smiled. "Oh, come on, you know what I mean. Everyone in the village knows you" she told him. "Especially since you're Naruto's student and you defeated one of the sixth Pains during Akatsuki invasion."

"You know about that?" Konohamaru was clearly surprised.

"EVERYONE knows that" Hinata emphasized. "Even my silly little sister here" the older Hyuuga turned to Hanabi. "You knew about this, right?"

"Umm... yes, yes... of course" Hanabi answered, her thoughts unreservedly focusing on devising an optimal plan to murder Hinata and dispose of the body, the future of the Hyuuga clan be damned.

"So, will you stay for dinner?" Hinata asked Konohamaru, literally making Hanabi's jaw drop.

"Uh... what?" the boy in question asked back ungracefully.

"You know, so we can get to know each other better" Hinata winked at him again. "If you know what I mean."

"Uh..."

"Or are you seeing anyone at the moment... or maybe you have your sight on some girl already?"

That was enough for Hanabi.

"Konohamaru" she started, using every ounce of her self-control to stay calm. "Are you sure your family doesn't expect you home? It's quite late already."

"Oh yes, you're right." he told her and stood up. "I should be going."

"I will see you to the door" Hanabi offered, grabbed Konohamaru's hand and dragged him before he had the chance to even think about objecting.

"Umm... goodbye Hinata-sa, I mean Hinata."

"See you next time, Konohamaru-_kun_" Hinata answered and restrained herself for a few more seconds only to drop to the floor and burst out laughing.

(* * *)

"I hope I wasn't a bother or anything" Konohamaru said.

"Of course not, don't listen to what my crazy older sister says!" Hanabi answered with a fake smile.

"If you say so... then thank you for your hospitality"

"Don't mention it."

Both teens were slightly blushing. It was normal considering that the guard at the gates were listening to the conversation, not even pretending to not listen.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then" Konohamaru said, turning to leave. "Goodbye Hanabi."

"Goodbye" Hanabi answered, observing him until he jumped on a nearby rooftop and shunshined away.

(* * *)

On the next day the team meetings resumed as per usual. Hanabi tried not to look at Konohamaru too often, because she still was embarrassed when she thought what Hinata had pulled off the day before. Konohamaru himself seemed a bit more reserved than usual as well. Moegi on the other hand was obviously suspicious, trying to get closer to Konohamaru than Hanabi deemed necessary. It was as if Moegi was testing what distance was safe, looking for invisible threshold, trespassing which would cause reaction from the Hyuuga.

Perhaps Ebisu realized that, because the team was once again assigned multiple missions, but with different make up this time. Moegi and Udon were sent on one of their learn-to-work-by-yourself kind of mission. Konohamaru received a largely unimportant spy mission in order to, as Tsunade had put it, "learn to stay quiet for more than 5 minutes straight". All this left Hanabi and Ebisu as the third team.

Thus, Hanabi ended up traveling with the most normal and oldest shinobi in her team and had the rare chance to observe a jounin at his best. Hanabi had always expected Ebisu to be the most reliable in typical shinobi jobs (not that he was without serious shortcomings). Moreover, she had expected Ebisu to think of her as the most skilled of all of his students. Maybe except fo Konohamaru, as the jounin had a soft spot for the Sarutobi. She found it difficult to remain objective and unbiased at times too – so it was understandable.

However, it seemed that Ebisu's view of her wasn't as crystal clear as she had previously thought, because the jounin used the opportunity to treat Hanabi to a series of stories and sermons, telling her about shinobi responsibilities, information gathering and making smart decisions. Hanabi listened without interrupting him, but didn't like what she was hearing. She knew such things, dammit! Well... unless Ebisu was making unclear and intricate allusions to her situation with Moegi and Konohamaru, however Hanabi refused to make that particular connection and just let the jounin say what he wanted to say.

The mission went rather smoothly. Ebisu complimented her performance most of the time and scolded her sometimes, seeming like a younger and softer version of her father, which was completely fine with Hanabi – like that she knew what she should work on and was satisfied when she did things right.

However, when the two of them returned to Konoha they were in for a surprise and a bad one.

(* * *)

"Well, it happens once in a while" Udon said. "And what can I say, I'm a bit clumsy and-"

"That's no excuse!" Haruno Sakura boomed, making the boy wince and shut up. "You're a chuunin for Kami's sake, what were you thinking. Or let me ask: were you thinking at all?Honestly, I have expected you of all people to have more common sense than this!"

The entire team was currently in the Konoha hospital and the four of them were watching Sakura tend to (and torment) Udon, who was lying in the hospital bed, bandages present over a good portion of his body.

"How did it even happen?!" Sakura asked with a commanding voice, but Udon was hesitant to answer.

"They knew some fire techniques and I was clumsy and underestimated them" he said.

"That doesn't explain all of those injuries!" Sakura countered. "You could be out of commission for weeks! And-"

"Sakura-san..." Ebisu started, getting the pinkette's attention. He was the first of the four to say something, clearly proving that he was the leader. "That's enough. I think he understood."

Hanabi had been watching the entire scene, not completely comprehending. Yes, she wanted to spare Udon from Sakura's hot (but righteous) wrath, but she was unable to do so, as if some feeling had glued her legs to the floor and clamped her mouth shut. She had never truly experienced such a situation and it was a weird and scary feeling. Even with Udon it was this serious. What if it wasn't Udon, but-no! Not thinking that. Not thinking.

She looked at Konohamaru who was shaking with anger or helplessness. Or both.

Moegi on the other side was completely silent, but Hanabi doubted it was because of her composure. Quite the opposite – she was probably completely unprepared for it, seeing as she and Udon were always on the sidelines and with the backup.

And then she heard Konohamaru's question.

"What'd you mean 'out of commission for weeks'? Can't you just heal him like always?"

"It's not that simple" Sakura snapped back. "Such treatment is not natural and should be used only in life-threatening situations and when the time is short, which is not the case right now. And if everything goes right it won't take that long. A few days. Maybe week. That's if the patient is obedient enough and won't try get out of the bed prematurely and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it" Udon answered and then turned to his team. "Seems like you'll need to do a few missions without me. I'm sorry."

"Don't be stupid!" Konohamaru told him, while giving him a nice-guy pose. "Just get better quickly and let's do some missions together!"

Udon and Hanabi smiled weakly, while Sakura only rolled her eyes. "Okay, that's sweet, but the visit is over" she told them. "Now, get out and let him rest."

(* * *)

"So, Udon is hospitalized, huh?" the Godaime Hokage remarked. "That's a bad news."

"Ah, yes" Ebisu replied. "But I believe our team would be able to perform two small missions just fine."

"Yes, that would be the case if I planned such missions for you."

This comment made the four members of Team Ebisu look at each other.

"Um... what do you mean Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage raised a particular set of files. "I have a guarding mission for you. There is possibility of going against enemy shinobi, so it's definitely a B-rank, but the circumstances and high payment make it an A-rank. At least on paper."

"A guarding mission?" Ebisu repeated. "Of what kind exactly?"

"Well, it's all about guarding someone from nobility and relax" Tsunade said when she noticed the panic in Konohamaru's, Moegi's and Hanabi's eyes. "It's not like that annoying brat Izakoza."

"Who is it then?" Konohamaru asked.

"Well, it's from a neighboring country" Tsunade explained. "It's a small and mostly neutral one, they do not have their own shinobi forces only militia, guards and the like. The land is peaceful and no-one is usually trying to threaten them, as the land serves little strategic importance. They don't have a daimyou or Kage like we do, but they do have a royal family and that's where the requests comes from."

"From royalty?" Ebisu asked surprised.

"Yes. They are not as rich as the daimyou, but they're still very wealthy. It's normal that they have to deal with kidnappings and assassination attempts from time to time. In such cases they hire shinobi and maintain they neutrality by hiring shinobis from different countries. It's a stable source of income for many shinobi countries."

"So, who would we need to guard?"

"Well, the contract is about a single person, the prince. The basic request is only for protecting him and you're not obligated to do anything else... however..."

"However?"

"We have dealt with them before, and let's put it this way – they would definitely want to use you for other things like errand boys, but they will offer a separate payment for that. It's up to you whether you accept or not. Just remember that your guarding duty comes first."

"So, when do we start?"

"I don't remember saying I assign this mission to you yet."

This visibly surprised them.

"Why not?" Hanabi asked and then quickly added. "Hokage-sama?"

"I'll be blunt" Tsunade answered. "I'm not really sure about sending the four of you to deal with such a high-level client. Our relationship with this country might be at stake."

"But you prepared this mission for us, right?" Konohamaru asked a little peeved.

"Yes, but that was when I assumed Udon would go with you. He's the best person to ease any conflicts that could ensue. Together with Hanabi's familiarity with nobility and Ebisu's tutelage the mission would be definitely doable. Maybe even simple. Bt now I'm not so certain."

"Oh c'mon, it's not babysitting. The prince is not a toddler, right?" Konohamaru asked, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"No he's not. Now that you actually mention it" Tsunade said while going through the files. "The prince's supposed to be close to your age and he even has similar personality according to my info. You two could actually get along... You know what they say: birds of a feather flock together... Well I suppose the prince has better manners than you do though" she teased.

Konohamaru, however, was worried about something else. It seemed, from the way baa-chan described the prince, that he could be his rival – Konohamaru glanced at Hanabi – but it was too late to back up now.

"If you say so" he said. "So do we get this mission?"

Tsunade remained silent for a few moments and then tossed a hard gazed towards each and every one of them. And then she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Alright, alright" she answered. "But be ready for hell if you mess this up."

"We wo-" Konohamaru started, but was cut off when Ebisu hit him on his head.

"We will do our best, Hokage-sama" the jounin answered.

"I hope so" the Hokage answered. "Here are your mission details."

(* * *)

A few hours later they were already traveling west to the borders of the Land of Fire. At least they were ahead of the schedule, so they were moving in a moderate pace (to the relief of Hanabi).

Konohamaru's mind was plagued with dark thoughts. He didn't like this mission. His gut feeling was telling him something was wrong and his gut was always right. Well... usually. He turned around to steal a quick glance at Hanabi.

And then he noticed something strange.

Moegi was acting weird. She was tailing behind and seemed absent-minded. Now that he thought about it, she was a lot quieter than usual, she didn't even try to hit him when they were talking with the Hokage. And she seemed fine when at their morning meeting. The only reason he could think of..

He slowed down, not paying attention to Hanabi's questioning look, until he was right next to Moegi.

"Hey" he started, feeling as if he was suddenly talking to some stranger. "What's up?"

"Huh?" Moegi answered, brought back to reality and only now noticing him. "Oh, it's nothing. Why'd you ask?"

Konohamaru sighed.

"Don't lie to me. You know you can't fool me. I know something's going on" he remained quiet for a moment, deciding whether he should ask what he wanted to ask. But he had to make sure.

"It's about Udon, isn't it?"

"Wh-what?" Moegi asked surprised, almost crashing into a tree. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You've been acting different since the hospital" he remarked, his voice serious. "C'mon I know it's something about him!"

Moegi mumbled something Konohamaru couldn't understand even with his hearing.

"What was that?"

"You don't know anything!" Moegi snapped at him. "You've seen him, all in those bandages! Aren't you worried?"

"Of course I'm worried!" Konohamaru said back. "But it's nothing Sakura or baa-chan couldn't fix! He'll live!"

"I told you, you don't understand anything!" Moegi's voice was raised by now, grabbing the attention of both Ebisu and Hanabi. "You weren't there! You think he's been badly damaged?" she asked. "Let me tell you something. He got it easy. One slip and he could've... he could've died!"

Konohamaru didn't know that. He swallowed.

"Di you tell this to Ebisu? Or to the Hokage?" Moegi remained silent, confirming for him that she hasn't. "What the hell Moegi? I know that Udon is our friend, but we're shinobi! Those things happen, they could happen right here and now! I know you're better than this! What got you so shaken up? Is there something you're not telling me?" he paused for a moment. Could she be blaming herself?

"Look, there was nothing you could do, it wasn't your fault! Udon is clumsy and-"

"Stop it!" she outright yelled at him. "I told you don't get anything! He wasn't clumsy! And it WAS my fault! He was protecting ME! He saved my life and could've died instead! It was me who messed up."

Konohamaru was shocked. Before he could even react properly Moegi sped up and went ahead of the three of them in seconds.

"Um... Konohamaru-kun?" Ebisu turned over his shoulder, looking at the young Sarutobi. "Care to explain?"

(* * *)

They made a stop, which was mostly used by Ebisu to talk to Moegi and Konohamaru. This seemed to have some of the desired effect, as Moegi managed to calm herself enough to continue the mission, but Ebisu still scolded her for not telling him anything after Udon took the blame.

They weren't in a hurry, so almost two full days went by before they finally reached the borders of the country. Konohamaru was surprised to see border patrols and even more that some of the guards were not the country's militia, but shinobi. And from Kumogakure. It was his first time seeing shinobi from two different nations cooperate in such a way in broad daylight. Well, he guessed that the last war did change a lot.

After being meticulously checked by the guards they entered the country and resumed their trip. By this time Moegi returned to normal or so it seemed. She probably managed to hold it inside, she was kunoichi after all. Konohamaru wasn't so sure, so he kept watching her just in case.

The country was called the Land of Roses and it lived up to its name, as colorful meadows were more common than forests or mountains. Konohamaru briefly wondered if all Yamanaka's flowers came from here.

They had little problem with finding the way in this new country, because the impressive palace towered over the landscape and was visible even from a long way off. In no time at all they were at the palace gates from where they were escorted to the one of the smaller buildings, the prince's palace wing, Konohamaru guessed.

The interior was something to look at as well, but the lack of excessive splendor was evident. Apparently, the king of this nation wasn't too greedy and relied on keeping relatively low-profile and seemed to be successful in this. Even the servants were working in a cheerful atmosphere, milling about on various errands, of course except for the guards on duty. Konohamaru discreetly tried to make a particular handseal in order to break any possible genjutsu, but to no avail – this country seemed both fairy-like and real. And Konohamaru didn't really even know it existed.

Maybe that's why the country was what it was.

Finally, they have been brought to an elegant and a little plump man.

"Good evening gentleman and ladies" the man spoke and bowed slightly when they came closer. "I welcome you at the Royal Palace. I am Hakaru, the chamberlain in charge of this fine household."

"Umm... good evening Hakaru-san, it's an honor to be here" Ebisu said.

The chamberlain nodded.

"The matters of your lodgings have been taken care of, although I have admit that you have arrived early, we were not expecting you for one more day."

"I hope we won't be a burden."

"Not at all" the chamberlain replied, honestly enough. "This may work in our favor."

"Umm... excuse my rudeness" Ebisu started, wanting to ask the question that was on everyone's mind. "When are we expect to meet the prince?"

The chamberlain's eyes widened in surprise and Konohamaru couldn't figure out why, until a new voice resounded.

"Haku? What is all this commotion? Oh..."

Konohamaru, Moegi, Hanabi and Ebisu turned to the source of this new voice. And froze at once.

No, this can't be... this have to be some mistake... a honest mistake... not even the Hokage could be this cruel...

The prince walked down the stairs. His clothes were light and airy and looked just like the rest of the palace – positively royal, but not too glamor, bereft of shine or precious stones. There was no crown, coronet or even a tiara, just a simple diadem. The diadem itself was seated in prince's long golden hair and above his big azure eyes. The prince also had surprisingly long legs, hidden by a cream-colored dress, a thin waist and at least a B-cup.

In other words: the prince was a princess.

"I see, you're the shinobi from Konoha we have requested?" the princess spoke, her voice melodic and gentle. "Oh, pardon my manners" she grabbed the hem of her dress and did a curtsy. "I am princess Kotomi, I welcome you in the palace of the Land of Roses, on behalf of my father, the king" she said all of it in a practiced manner, but without a hint of falsehood or routine. And when she raised her eyes Konohamaru immediately realized that the Hokage was right – in those eyes he could see mirth, determination, confidence and a little bit stubbornness. It was obvious that the princess was used to royal life, but Konohamaru could bet she was also the type to leave the palace grounds and speak up her mind. Maybe even pull pranks on people.

He and her were of course different, but fundamentally similar.

None of Team Ebisu knew how to react to her speech, fearing to make some kind of blunder, but the dilemma was resolved by the chamberlain who spoke.

"Kotomi-sama, I told you before you shouldn't be bowing before every guest and-"

"Oh c'mon, give it a rest Haku" the princess replied while waving her hand at him. "They come a long way to get here just because we asked and I'm sure-" the princess stopped, her eyes focused on Konohamaru.

"Umm..." the boy couldn't keep quiet. "Is something wrong?"

"Noo" the princess answered. "I just have this feeling that I have seen you before."

"He's Sarutobi Konohamaru, princess" the chamberlain told her.

"That's right!" Kotomi put her fist onto the palm of her hand in realization.

This actually managed to surprise even Moegi.

"You know Konohamaru, princess?"

"No, but you remind me of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage."

"You knew my grandfather?" Konohamaru couldn't help but ask.

"So he was your grandfather" the princess asked back. "Now wonder you look so similar."

"Please excuse us, the princess's hobby is to collect information about famous people."

"What's wrong with having a hobby?" the princess asked the chamberlain. "Would you rather have me climb trees?"

"No, of course not!" was the answer "Now, I am sure you would like to relax after your trip. Let me show you to your rooms. We can talk about details later."

"Yes, thank you very much, that's very kind of you and..." Ebisu said, but trailed off, watching the sight before him.

Konohamaru was standing in place, very aware of the princess who was observing him from different angles, as if measuring some quantities or features of him invisible to anyone else.

"Uhh... is something the matter?" he asked.

"You said that the Third Hokage was your grandfather, right?"

Konohamaru nodded, only now realizing that she called the Third Hokage his grandfather, instead of calling him the Third Hokage's grandson.

"Mhhh" the princess nodded to herself. "It seems I have been looking for someone like you."

At this point Konohamaru started to sweat a little, but he wasn't the worst – the chamberlain on the other hand visibly paled and looked at the princess with a hint of panic.

"You have been looking for me?" Konohamaru repeated.

"Yes, I would like to make a request."

"Uh... you kind of already did, princess" Konohamaru told her. "We're here to protect you as per your request."

"Oh, I didn't mean that" the princess told him. "I was talking more about an offer... proposal to be exact" now she stood right in front of him. "I know that it's sudden and much too straightforward..."

She clasped his hand in hers.

"But will you marry me?"

All of a sudden everything went silent and Hanabi's vision went black safe for the spot when the princess just proposed to Konohamaru. In this moment Hanabi remembered the sentence spoken a few days ago by the Hokage.

The birds of a feather flock together.

**(* * *)**

**So, Hanabi learns some version of Rasengan faster than anyone before her (Minato turns over in his grave), Konohamaru visits Hanabi's room, Hinata messes with Hanabi, Udon gets wounded, Moegi gets worried and Konohamaru gets his own princess.**

**So no big developments at all.**

**And also, for everyone thinking about similarity between Konohamaru's scarf and Naruto: the Last movie I have this observation:**

**Scarfs: Konohamaru had one before it was cool.**

**That's all, see you next time.**


	25. A royal mess

**Hello, everyone! I'm back!**

**A few "quick" announcements.**

**First, sorry for being really late, but I had serious problems with this chapter. Part of it was because of the plot and the Easter... but I won't deny that the other part was because of my laziness and because of my recent fascination with The World God Only Knows manga – I've got seriously hooked, to the point that I know what my next fanfiction will be about (probably).**

**Next, I am not abandoning the story. And if you want me to answer to your reviews asking about the progress, then post your reviews as logged users and not as guests.**

**Also, as one could readily deduce, we're getting really fast to the ending of this story. In my head there are two more chapters, but I don't know how much text I will produce (and thus where the chapter cutting will occur).**

**Another thing, resulting from the previous one: the frequency of posting chapters will probably remain as is (more or less one per month), especially since I need to pay special attention to the plot details.**

**Also, this is probably a good moment to mention that this chapter didn't turn out as wonderfully as I wanted it to be, but I guess I have my limits. Sorry for that.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto manga and this fanfiction belong to their respective authors. More or less.**

**(* * *)**

"But Kotomi-sama!" Haku the chamberlain pleaded patiently. "You cannot just spring marriage proposal on random people like that!"

"Why not?" the princess questioned back. "Frankly, it's not that big of a deal even if I meant it as a joke... which I didn't. It was an official stance since father left this matter to me, as you surely remember."

"Yes, but, but..." the chamberlain was obviously searching for the right argument.

"But what?"

The evening has almost passed by now, overtaken by early night hours. They were currently in Kotomi's private chamber and the princess herself was seated in front of her vanity and combing her golden locks. It wasn't the most logical thing to do, as she was soon expected to retire for the day, but the princess herself had stated that "since she's forbidden to get out and get her hair all messy at this hour, she might as well try and make them perfect."

Ebisu, who was standing guard (inside the room for some reason), didn't bat an eyelash at the strange conversation. The palace guard who accompanied him was similarly unaffected. Ebisu was by now moderately certain that once he's back in the village not even Naruto's antics are going to surprise him anymore.

"But such a sudden declaration can be considered improper in the very least. Rude even."

"Yes, I know" Kotomi answered, seemingly frustrated by some stubborn lock of hair... at least presumably, because Ebisu couldn't notice any locks requiring further combing. "But I didn't have much choice..." Kotomi continued. "Konohamaru-kun's stay here is only guaranteed for a few more days and I shall make use of this time. Besides, do you think he looked offended or anything?"

"Umm... if I may interrupt" Ebisu started, feeling nervous when he managed to get both their attention. "I think Konohamaru was much too... umm... shocked to feel offended."

That was true. It took several minutes for the boy to regain the ability to speak and even then he mainly focused on frantic looks, as if expecting a dozen blond-haired knuckle-headed shadow clones jumping at him from all directions while yelling "surprise!" and "got'cha!"

On the other hand, Moegi and Hanabi seemed to process this new development a little faster, which became known to Ebisu as soon as he felt two distinct sources of discreet and masked but still evident killing intent. Seriously, couldn't they for once have a mission where his team does not have any immediate grudge against the client? Was he asking too much?

Apparently yes... Scratch that! He should be probably thankful the the chamberlain managed to drag the princess away (not an easy task, it seemed) before Konohamaru could actually answer her. Haku even tried to explain that it was a joke when he was leaving and wishing them a peaceful night, but the effect was ruined when Kotomi denied it and told Konohamaru that she was serious and will see him tomorrow.

Which kinda brought Ebisu to the fact that Moegi and Hanabi were currently together in one room with nothing to do but processing the events of this day. This, in turn, made Ebisu wonder... was the fact that both girls were far away from him now a good or bad thing? Or maybe was it bad and worse?

"Well, not that I blame him" Kotomi answered and returned to her previous task, however now it was painfully obvious that she was pretending, hoping that everyone will assume that she was busy and leave her alone.

Ebisu decided that it was about time he used his information gathering skills to shed some light on this bizarre development.

"I am not sure if you are aware" he started. "But I was Konohamaru's tutor and even a caretaker before and after he became a ninja. I know him quite well and while I am not a family member I feel responsible for his well-being in a manner beyond simply being a ninja instructor" he paused for a moment and, when not faced with objection, he continued. "Excuse me for asking this, but may I know the reason for this sudden, umm... proposal?"

"Haku, would you be so kind and explain?" the princess requested calmly with only a slight tint of satisfaction.

"Yes, Kotomi-sama" the chamberlain replied and then turned to Ebisu. "There's really no spectacular reason for this. Kotomi-sama has simply come of age and needs to get betrothed as quickly as possible. That is how royalty works."

Ebisu glanced at the princess, but she only nodded her head, confirming Haku's words.

"Excuse me for saying this, but it doesn't make much sense... If that was the case why did the princess say that she was looking for Konohamaru? Shouldn't the princess marry a prince from some other country?"

"Booriiing" Kotomi replied simply in a sing-song tone, her voice laced with a trace of frustration.

"Umm... or princess is not really interested in being married to some typical prince... actually most princess are not, but they have little choice in the matter. Our princess does however..."

"Are you saying that... the princess wishes to choose her husband from outside the royalty?" Ebisu asked.

"Well, not exactly..." the chamberlain answered while glancing at the princess. "I doubt she will choose a commoner, though it is not outside of the realm of possibility... Regardless, one could think about it in this way: in a nation such as Land of Fire the parties closest to royalty would be the Daimyou, the Hokage and the more prominent clans heads in the village of Konoha, as well as their closest family members" he paused for a moment. "As such a future head of the Sarutobi clan seems reasonable."

"With all due respect, Konohamaru-kun aims to be Hokage in the future, so there is a possibility that he will not be a head of the Sarutobi clan" Ebisu remarked.

"The Hokage would be even better candidate though" the chamberlain noticed.

"I was afraid you were going to say this" Ebisu sighed. "But still, I'm afraid Konohamaru, Hokage or not, cannot become a prince of the Land of Roses!"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Kotomi replied, standing up and going to her private terrace, followed by the rest. "I am not the heir in my family and I don't care about being the princess. The wife of a Hokage would be nice. Living in a shinobi village would certainly be more interesting than living here. My father could actually be happy if I moved there."

"Don't say such things, Kotomi-sama!" Haku berated her.

"It's the truth" the princess answered, while admiring the view – a vast open space, mostly empty, safe for the myriad of flowers. Ebisu had to admit, if was a beautiful view even if highlighted only by moonlight and some lights from the palace. How would it look in the morning?

Ahh... he should get back to the topic at hand.

"Umm... princess" Ebisu started to get the princess's attention.

"Kotomi is enough" she answered, but Ebisu knew better.

"Kotomi-sama then... Excuse me for saying this, I am not trying to decide what is best for you princess, but there are some important considerations..."

"Like what? He is single right?"

"Yes..." Ebisu admitted reluctantly.

"Then what's the problem?"

"For starters: Konohamaru has not answered to your... uh... proposal... but I can assure you: he doesn't love you!"

Ebisu was surprised when he was answered with a loud outburst of laughter. He didn't expect that. Was the princess so delusional?

"He doesn't love me?" Kotomi asked back when she calmed down, tears from her laughter visible in her eyes. "Of course he doesn't! He knows me for, like, 10 minutes? It would be creepy if he was in love with me by now."

So, she was surprisingly mature about this.

"Then are you suggesting you are going to try to make him fall in love with you in those few days?"

She nodded.

"That's not a lot of time to know each other..."

"That's why I need to act fast."

"That's a little... extreme" the chamberlain interjected.

"Well, drastic times call for drastic measures" was Kotomi's reply.

"You are not planning to actually seduce the boy, are you?" the chamberlain asked, his eyes already betraying symptoms of panic.

"No" the girl answered simply, making both Haku and Ebisu sigh in relief. "I am not _planning_ for this, but..." she paused for effect. "when push comes to shove it might be a viable solution."

"Please stop jesting, Kotomi-sama" the chamberlain said. "It is not like you-"

"Not like I could pull it off?" the princess finished for him while turning around to face them and then striking a pose, her finger to her lips. "I think I can pull it off quite well if I tried" the princess finished and Ebisu gulped. She was now looking as a being torn between innocence and temptation. He knew this because he had seen Konohamaru use his perverted techniques to transform into girl and strike poses as well.

In other words Ebisu had to divert the conversation from this particular topic. He needed a solid argument. And he needed it fast.

"With all due respect, Kotomi-sama" he started, getting her attention. "It would be difficult, if possible at all, to make someone fall in love on such a short notice. You have said that yourself just a moment ago."

Kotomi nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"With this in mind, there would be clearly not enough time to hold a wedding ceremony."

"You are correct" the princess answered. "But that is not a problem at all. I would have wanted a more quiet wedding... unfortunately, Father would not allow this. Haku, can you explain please."

"Yes, of course. What we are currently discussing is a betrothal, a promise of marriage" the chamberlain explained to Ebisu. "After that it would be necessary to hold a meeting with your village and the Daimyou. This alone would take weeks. Thus, the actual marriage is not a problem, as it would happen at least a year in the future. This is because due to her age Kotomi-sama is currently eligible for betrothal, not marriage."

Ebisu sighed in relief. Maybe, just maybe he will survive this mess.

"Speaking of the Fire Daimyou" Haku spoke. "His second son is also of a proper age and-"

"Over my dead body" Kotomi replied darkly. "The Daimyou is just stiff boring politics and his son probably has a stick up his butt."

"Kotomi-sama!" the chamberlain all but yelled, but the princess only snorted in a completely unladylike manner.

"That is the truth" she replied. "Now, I shall excuse myself. It seems I may have a busy day ahead of me, so I will retire for today" she turned to Ebisu for the last time. "I guess I will see you in the morning."

"Ahh, goodnight Kotomi-sama" and with that Ebisu was outside and sighed. It seemed that the princess was right in at least one aspect: it will be a busy day.

(* * *)

When Ebisu reached the room him and Konohamaru was assigned to the boy in question was already asleep, which the jounin took as a (relatively) good sign. Konohamaru apparently didn't freak out and it looked like the sudden confession didn't go to his head either. At least hopefully. Thus, Ebisu decided to wait till morning to speak with him.

It was already seven in the morning and Ebisu could no longer allow Konohamaru to sleep, so he shook him in order to rouse the boy from his sleep. Surprisingly, he woke almost immediately, which did nothing to lessen Ebisu's bad feeling.

"Huh?" Konohamaru shifted into a sitting position. "Where I am?"

"We're in a middle of a mission, Konohamaru-kun" Ebisu spoke, getting the boy's attention.

"Oh, good mooooorning sensei" Konohamaru replied while yawning. "What's up?"

At this point more than one pulsing vein popped at Ebisu's forehead. The nerve of this kid... or could've forgotten due to the shock? On the other hand, this was a chance for Ebisu to tease the boy. One prank wouldn't hurt them, right? Or, at the very least, it won't hurt Ebisu.

"How are you feeling Konohamaru-kun? Had a nice night of sleep?"

"You bet!" Konohamaru answered with a bright smile, apparently not noticing that Ebisu's gentle voice didn't match his facial expression. The boy then paused for a moment, sighed and... groaned.

"Though I had this very disturbing dream..."

"What kind of dream was it?" Ebisu asked. "A good one or a bad one?"

"I don't know" Konohamaru replied. "Maybe both."

"What it was about?"

"Oh... nevermind that... you wouldn't believe me."

"By any chance" Ebisu pried, his voice laced with obvious vengeful satisfaction. "Were there any... I don't know... palaces, princesses and... marriage proposals?" he finished.

For a moment everything was completely still. And then Konohamaru slowly turned to him. In his eyes Ebisu could see a glimpse, just a little bit of self-satisfaction, covered by substantially more confusion and disbelief topped by whole loads of what could only be described as horror.

"Y-you" the boy stuttered, clearly in denial. "You've got to be k-kidding me!"

"Welcome to the real world, Konohamaru-kun" Ebisu stated bitterly.

(* * *)

Ebisu was a jounin geared towards specific fields of ninja skills and he was certainly not capable of interfering with high-end romantic affairs like this one. But he still knew enough to conclude two simple things.

First, he should definitely try to keep the current situation from escalating.

That's why he explained to Konohamaru about his conversation with the princess and her chamberlain and, to make sure that Konohamaru comprehended it, Ebisu repeated his speech. Twice.

The jounin knew the short visit time might make the princess quite... active in her attempts to achieve her goal and thus it required Ebisu to carefully maneuver from the side lines.

However, the second thing remained. The princess's proposal, as sudden as it was, doesn't have to be a bad thing. I mean, yes, it was ridiculous and suspicious, but Ebisu had no right to decide anything for Konohamaru. This was something his student needed to deal on his own. Of course that didn't mean that Ebisu left him all alone – he spent good half an hour, telling Konohamaru about responsibility, harsh decisions, consequences, political affairs and keeping his priorities straight. It may not have a full effect, but it should keep Konohamaru from getting too depressed or too ahead of himself.

Still, Ebisu decided to give both parties some more time to cool down. The jounin made Konohamaru stay in his room for now, informing the princess that Konohamaru shift will be later in the day.

And that was how Hanabi and Moegi ended as Kotomi's personal bodyguards for the morning.

Hanabi was leaning against the wall, trying to be unassuming and inconspicuous. Once in a while she used her Byakugan to check the perimeter without moving an inch. She seemed almost like a statue, save for her eyes, which she used to constantly skim over the chamber, as if looking for some unseen danger. And every once in a while her gaze rested on the two other people in the chamber – Moegi and princess Kotomi – completely disregarding two palace guards that accompanied them. It was quite easy to ignore them, as their detachment would make any Hyuuga proud.

Moegi was standing guard, or at least pretended to, on the terrace, presumably trying to stay as far from the princess as possible, while still maintaining her duties. The orange-haired kunoichi seemed surprisingly calm. Hanabi guessed that perhaps the girl's temper was kept from exploding because of the shock. The previous issue with Udon might've helped as well, though in truth Hanabi expected it to be a final blow to Moegi. Apparently she was wrong.

All in all, the young Hyuuga admired Moegi for her ability to stay calm, because Hanabi herself was calm only on the outside. Inside there were several emotions threatening to tear her apart. There was much confusion, and a little bit of anger. There was sadness and desperation.

And there was jealousy.

Hanabi was already past the denial stage and now she could definitely recognize this particular nasty feeling. This in itself was a little weird – Hanabi was no stranger to jealousy. She had her fair share of it when competing with Hinata, even though back then she masked it with pride and used it to fuel her determination. However, now she felt quite different. This kind of jealousy didn't result in regular anger and frustration, but rather created helplessness and longing – something that Hanabi wasn't used to.

Both kunoichis spent the yesterday evening in their own room, trying to make sense of the situation, only to come with nothing at all, as it certainly didn't look as a joke.

Hanabi was brought out of her musings by the princess's voice.

"Boooring..." Kotomi drawled. "I can't believe this is happening! I wanted to spend the morning with Konohamaru-kun!" she complained. Hanabi noticed that Moegi flinched at that remark. However, this opportunity could be used to have some questions answered.

"How about we talk uh... princess?" Hanabi started, making the girl turn to her.

"Kotomi is enough" she answered, although with a little less confidence than before. "What do you mean talk?"

"Um... you know, small talk, to pass the time" Hanabi suggested. At this remark Moegi turned around to observe this peculiar development. Hanabi and small talk?

"I suppose that's better than doing nothing" Kotomi answered.

"Then how about some gossip?" Hanabi started, stepping closer to the table stacked with the breakfast leftovers and tea service. She tried to keep her voice gentle and cheerful, putting on her best carefree and easy-going smile. Or at least she hoped she did. "We can start with the hottest latest topic, like the marriage of the princess."

At this Moegi inhaled sharply. What was Hanabi doing? That approach was too obvious! This couldn't possibly work. But to her surprise Kotomi smiled and then turned to Hanabi to scrutinize her.

"Oh, I forgot, you're Konohamaru-kun comrades and yesterday was a little sudden, I am sorry for that."

"Yes, we're comrades" Hanabi confirmed. "Actually we're close friends" that was a white lie, but it had to do for now" Hanabi was now next to the table. She hesitated for a moment, but Kotomi understood her quiet question and pointed to the chair at the other end of the table. "And we're wondering why would you make such an offer to him."

"I know it's sudden, but I'm not forcing anything. I was just asking him" Kotomi replied.

"That doesn't answer my question. Why would you want to marry him?" at this point Moegi was inside the room, listening to every word.

Kotomi sighed.

"I already explained it to your captain" she said. "In short: I need to find a husband soon and Konohamaru-kun seems to be a good candidate, not to mention handsome..."

Hanabi swallowed.

"Are you familiar with Hyuuga Hiashi?" she asked.

Kotomi paused for a moment. "You mean one of the clan heads of Konoha? What does he have to do with... Oh... let me guess... a daughter and future clan head."

"Yes to the first and no to the second" Hanabi answered. "In short – I know how arranged marriages work."

"Oh, we usually don't do arranged marriages... except for the actual heirs. If you're asking if I am allowed to chose my spouse candidate than yes. From what I heard Konohamaru-kun is quite likely to become a fine figure, so there's not status problem."

Hanabi nodded. She had a multitude of questions she could use to argue, but she reasoned that if Ebisu hadn't been able to persuade Kotomi then so wasn't she. She was curious about one thing though.

"What if Konohamaru isn't... as good a candidate as you think?" she asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You simply don't know him. How could you be so sure he's... the right one?"

"I don't know that, but I would be really in learning something about him though" Kotomi answered. " And if you know any reason I should not marry him then please do tell me."

Hanabi cursed inwardly. She doubted that she could make the princess dislike Konohamaru without lying... and lies could be verified. And she certainly wasn't too keen on performing paeans of praise about Konohamaru.

This was all Konohamaru's fault. She was sooo going to make him pay when they were back. A good all-day training session for starters.

"Ugh" but first she had to weasel her way out of this hole she dug herself. "I'm not really that good at describing people..." she tried lamely.

"Huh? What do you mean" Kotomi asked and then pouted like a little child. This, Hanabi noticed despite her better judgment, made the princess exceptionally cute. "You were the one who wanted to talk! You people are no fun!"

"My sincerest apologies" Hanabi replied. "But we're not here to have fun. We're paid to guard you."

"Alright" Kotomi answered. "I'll pay you five thousand ryou if you tell me about all you know about Konohamaru" the last remark almost made Hanabi's jaw hit the table. The Hokage did mention about the possibility of their clients asking other requests for money, but Hanabi thought it would something like "get my towel for me" or "help me with my bags", but this was unexpected.

Thank Kami Hanabi had a good excuse for this one.

"Are you trying to bribe me?" she snorted, her nose high in the air. "I am also a noble and such a sum of money is-"

"Ten thousand" Kotomi countered.

"I'm not really interested in money..." Hanabi tried, already dreading what Kotomi's next step might be. And she was right.

"Twenty thousand ryou!" the princess spoke louder, while pointedly looking at Moegi. The orange-haired girl didn't say anything, which was already quite dangerous. Hanabi prayed for the orange-haired girl to remain quiet and promised herself she would let Meogi have her part of mission reward if they manage to get through this without letting Kotomi have any kind of info.

Moegi turned around and returned to the terrace. Kotomi remained silent for a few more seconds.

"I wonder if the money is not enough... or maybe do you dislike me this much?" she asked after a moment, her eyes trained on Hanabi.

"We don't know you. Excuse as for not trusting A princess appearing out of nowhere and popping the question to our teammate. I'm sure Konohamaru-_kun_ would've done the same thing for us."

Both girls continued to look at each other for a moment until Kotomi sighed in defeat.

"You've got a point there" she admitted. "Seems like I'll have to talk to Konohamaru-kun after all" she remained quiet after that and Hanabi was just about to stand up and return to her previous spot when the princess spoke up.

"Hey, let's play."

Hanabi blinked. "Excuse me?"

Kotomi blinked as well. "You don't know what 'playing' is?" she asked incredulous.

"I know what it is" Hanabi answered, a little annoyed. "You were talking about adult things like marriage and now you want to play?"

She didn't mean it like an offense. It just... happened.

"I'm not talking about playing with dolls" the princess snorted. "I want to get out of here. The weather is so nice. We can go to the garden and-"

"And climb trees?"

"That would be fun! Haku would be sooo mad" Kotomi said already excited and beaming.

"We're supposed to guard you!" Hanabi reminded her.

"Five thousand ryou!" Kotomi offered. "For each one of you" she added before Hanabi could retort.

"Ugh... I told you we-" Hanabi was cut off when Moegi grabbed her arm.

"Give us a moment" she told the princess, while smiling a fake smile. "We need to think about it."

(* * *)

"What are you doing?" Hanabi asked when they were on terrace. "We're supposed to guard her" she added while keeping her eye on Kotomi. The princess had other guards, but if Ebisu-sensei finds them like this.

"I know that, but I think we should agree to... play with her."

"Why?" Hanabi asked, honestly not comprehending Moegi's intent. "And here I'm trying to get through this mess. Are you seriously fine with encouraging her to marry Konohamaru?"

"Who said anything about encouraging?" Moegi asked while looking at Hanabi seriously. "I say we play with her, get close to her and once she trust us then we discourage her... or we could learn some nasty secret of hers and discourage Konohamaru instead."

"That's" Hanabi started. "That could actually work."

"Of course it could!" Moegi said, but then quieted down, her cheeks tinted with a pink hue. "But I probably can't do it alone, so..."

"You're asking me for help?" Moegi nodded and Hanabi laughed. "A temporary alliance in a love war?"

"Not alliance... let's call it... teamwork to complete a shinobi mission" Moegi corrected. "Let's work together until this... threat is not removed."

Hanabi mulled this over for a moment.

"Fine" she said simply. She was tempted to shake Moegi's hand, but she didn't want to attract Kotomi's attention.

Moegi smiled at her and it was her first genuine smile Hanabi has seen in days.

"Then let's play!" Moegi announced and then walked to Kotomi to haggle a little more.

Getting a Konoha chuunin to play wasn't a cheap service after all.

(* * *)

Two hours later they were back in the palace and the princess seemed in high spirits, unlike both kunoichis.

"I knew that it was a good idea" Kotomi announced happily, despite the fact that her attire was in slight disarray and she was smudged in dirt. Truth be told, Hanabi thought that tree climbing was a joke, but she was proven wrong. Hanabi reckoned that the princess was like a younger, more carefree and well-mannered version of Konohamaru and it irked her.

But, all in all Moegi's plan might just work, as they did manage to get princess to lower her guard. Hanabi glanced at Moegi and the girl nodded back at her.

"So..." the Hyuuga started. "So what's are we going to do now?"

This question seemed to make Kotomi even more giddy as she giggled.

"Now I will go and prepare for my date with Konohamaru-kun."

"Date?" Moegi coughed. "What do you mean date?"

"We'll start with a simple lunch together, you know, to get to know each other."

"Did Konohamaru even agree to it?" Moegi prodded on, her tone, Hanabi noticed, becoming less friendly.

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Just answer the question. Do you think you can just take him for granted like that?"

Hanabi sensed that it was a provocation and was already opening her mouth to stop Moegi, but it was too late, as Kotomi turned on her heels, facing them.

"Ooh?" she started with a gentle, yet sly smile "I figured it might be something like that... you see, a woman's intuition is never wrong. So..." she looked at Moegi with piercing eyes. "You are jealous" she stated, not asked.

"What?" Moegi said, trying to sound brave, but the effect was ruined when she took a step back.

"You're just afraid that I'm going to steal him from you!" the princess continued. "That means you seriously consider me a threat. I'll take that as a compliment."

Moegi was visibly losing her composure.

"You should follow the example of your friend here" Kotomi pointed to Hanabi, but then she noticed that the Hyuuga girl, while faring much better, was not completely unaffected.

"Oh, you too?" the princess asked, this time actually surprised and then smiled. "That just proves that Konohamaru-kun is worthy fighting for."

"Alright, let's lay the cards on the table" Hanabi said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can try all you want, but there's no way you'll get to like him, even if we don't interfere."

"And do you plan to?" Kotomi asked.

"Who knows?" Hanabi answered. It was a direct confrontation and a bit of a gamble, but the mission was only about guarding, not about letting Konohamaru get the girl, so Hanabi wasn't feeling bad about it. Not one bit.

"You seem so sure about it. Are you confident?" Kotomi asked.

"Are you not?" Hanabi countered.

Both girls continued to stare at each other for a few moments, one would expect sparks to start flying... and then Kotomi just smiled.

"We'll see" she told them, then she turned around and continued walking down the corridor. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare for my date."

(* * *)

"Ah, finally alone, just the two of us, isn't it great, Konohamaru-kun?" Kotomi cooed cheerfully. She had taken the chance to freshen up and change her clothes. Her attire was more casual than before, but still it was quite stunning and a little... to adult to Konohamaru's taste. It wasn't too revealing, but it was quite obvious that the princess didn't choose those clothes by accident.

Konohamaru pondered how to answer. Truth be told, he was feeling a little uneasy with just the two of them and with all those dishes placed before him. He had to hand it over to her – the princess somehow arranged quite the impressive feast (for a simple lunch anyway) without actually flaunting her wealth.

Still, Konohamaru was wary of the situation, especially since he remembered what Ebisu-sensei told him before. And not even mentioning that he would have to deal with Hanabi afterwards... he shuddered at the mere thought of it. But before that he had to survive this "date". He might as well test her.

"Aren't you even a tiny bit afraid, princess?" he asked.

"Call me Kotomi and what would I be afraid of?" she answered question with a question, eyeing him carefully.

"You're a member of the royal family, right?" she nodded. "Yet, you're sitting in one room with a stranger, without your guards."

"You're my guard."

"I'm a stranger" Konohamaru repeated. "What if I was send to assassinate you?"

"Well" she took a sip from her glass. "I guess, it is a possibility, but we have no choice, but to rely on shinobi. Besides, it would do Konoha no good to attack us so openly."

"I might be Sunagakure jounin in disguise for all you know."

"We checked you before letting you into the country, remember?"

"Yes, but you can never be sure. And what if someone attacks while we have lunch?"

"The other guards and your friends are close and I'm sure you would protect me. And I would happily become a damsel in distress" she paused for a moment, thinking about something. "Actually, I'm starting to wish someone would attack me right now..."

Konohamaru remained silent, looking at her with a mix of surprise and hesitation.

"I see you're more wary about me than I am about you" Kotomi noticed. "Not that I blame you... I would've done the same if I were you" she smiled. "Well, I suppose we should dig in, don't you think?"

Konohamaru nodded eagerly. He briefly wondered whether he should fake having bad table manners (not that it was spectacular or anything), but he decided against it, seeing that Kotomi was watching him intently. She would probably figure it out. For the same reason he decided not to lie about the taste of the dishes.

"This is quite good" he commented after a while and Kotomi beamed in response. "Your cooks are quite something."

"Yes they are" she confirmed. "However, all the food on your side of the table is something I am very well capable of cooking myself. Yes I can cook" she added when Konohamaru stared at her.

Damn... so he had fallen into her trap. He had to admit – the girl was pretty incredible. In any other situation he would've seriously considered to at least get to know her... In any other situation. But not now, because in his mind he was constantly comparing Kotomi with Hanabi. And even if they were equal in his mind, his heart told him otherwise.

"Now enough about my cooking" Kotomi spoke, bringing him out of his reverie. "How about we talk about you instead, Konohamaru-kun?"

Where did she get those lines from? Was she reading some dating guidebooks or something.

"What do you mean?"

"Hm..." the princess thought for a moment, twirling her hair absent-mindedly. "Let me hear a little about your missions. I'm sure you had some great adventures."

He decided to make a gamble.

"And what if I would rather not tell them?"

Kotomi remained quiet for a moment. "I would offer you money, but you would probably refuse. Oh, c'mon, I really think you're just _dying_ to tell me some stories. Pamper me for once. Pretty please?"

Konohamaru saw no reason to refuse at this point and thus he started telling her about his shinobi life. He originally meant to tell her only about his boring D-rank missions (seems they were not completely useless after all), but she found them interesting enough. At first he thought she was pretending, but then again, for a princess confined to the palace and longing for freedom this could actually be honest. That aside, he didn't even notice when he started telling her about his more shinobi-like missions. He guessed it was because of his desire to be recognized as someone with his own greatness. Ironic, isn't it?

However, he made special care not to mention the last few missions, mainly because of Hanabi. Kotomi seemed to listen intently, rarely speaking, but her facial expression said it all – she was pretty much impressed.

Just what he needed.

He just ended one of his stories when he finally decided to stop beating around the bush and tackle the most important issue.

"Um... princess..."

"I told you to call me Kotomi" she told him gently. "Actually you can call me Kotomi-chan if you'd like" she winked at him.

"So, Kotomi...-san" he tried again. "About your proposal..."

"Yes, Konohamaru-_kun_?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot accept it."

Kotomi remained silent for a moment. "Why?" she asked finally.

Konohamaru paused to think. He had one very obvious reason, but the last thing he needed was to reveal his feelings for Hanabi, fearing she might learn of it. On the other hand, saying that he has someone he likes might cause him some trouble with Moegi. What was he supposed to do.

"I just don't like you that way, no offense."

"None taken" Kotomi told. "You're saying that now, but we still have some time. You'd be surprised how quickly people can fall in love, especially when they're young."

"Are you talking from experience?"

That was the first question that somehow managed to disturb the princess.

"Yes and no" she replied ambiguously. Konohamaru figured she wouldn't tell him any details. Ok, he could try another approach.

"And what about you?" he asked, making Kotomi raise her eyebrow. "I mean, can you honestly say that you truly like me?"

"I think I do" she answered after a moment. "At the very least I like you much more than I liked you yesterday. And I didn't hate you yesterday."

"And do you believe that kinda progress is enough?"

"Honestly? We're progressing faster than I anticipated."

Konohamaru sighed. He was running out of arguments after less than an hour of being with her. He never thought that having someone who liked you could be this troublesome. At this rate who could guess what Kotomi would try in those few days. At least she wouldn't try to molest him.

Probably.

Maybe he should try to avoid her altogether... but he was on a mission, bound by a contract. What kind of Hokage would run away because of that? He was better than this. All this was probably staged by Tsunade-baachan in order to test him. Still, he would be forever grateful if someone saved him from his current predicament.

His prayers were heard for once, it seemed, as he heard knocking on the door.

"Come in" Kotomi announced a little surprised, apparently it was nothing she planned for.

The door opened and in entered Moegi. She walked past Kotomi and stood next to the wall without a word.

"Um, excuse me" Kotomi started, looking calm enough, but Konohamaru sensed she wasn't so tranquil inside. "But what are you doing here?"

"Guarding you" Moegi answered without a trace of hesitation.

"But my guard is right here" Kotomi pointed to Konohamaru.

"That is not enough" Moegi stated calmly. "Ebisu-sensei suggested that I come here and your chamberlain agreed to it."

"But I didn't" Kotomi said plainly. Konohamaru expected Moegi to panic, but to his surprise she didn't even bat an eyelash.

"That may be truth, but our client is not you, but your father and he apparently ordered us to listen to your chamberlain with regard to the guarding schedule."

"Then why not bring your another friend?"

"Oh, you mean Hanabi?" Moegi asked. "She's waiting outside. You know, guarding the perimeter... and by the way... don't mind me. Behave as if I was not here, it's not like you're not used to being guarded all the time."

Konohamaru was deeply grateful for the intervention, though he couldn't deny the dreadful aura that seemed to emit from both girls. That made him wonder. Both of them were here and both of them yearned to get his attention. Hanabi was not here. Does that mean she wasn't interested in him? It shouldn't be that surprising, what were the chances of Hanabi actually liking him? On the other hand, there were some signs that told him otherwise... or maybe he was just overthinking things.

Kotomi sighed. "I guess all good things come to an end" she stated, eyeing Moegi. "But I'm happy, since I learned many things about you, Konohamaru-kun."

"Pardon me for interrupting" Moegi started. "But I can help you verify what you know about Konohamaru" she offered. "I knew him since I was seven years old after all. I know a lot of things he would want to hide" Moegi said, one hand on her hips and the other pointing at the boy in question, making him blink.

"This talk again?" Kotomi asked back. "It's useless, unless you have some examples to back it up, right?"

The blonde and the orange-haired girl stared at each other. Moegi pursed her lips, while Kotomi smiled and glanced at Konohamaru, who was currently feeling something between confused and embarrassed. He just hoped that Moegi wouldn't do something... stupid.

However, it seemed that his prayers remained unheard this time as Moegi shot him a look that was clearly saying "sorry".

"Actually, I do" the orange-haired kunoichi said when she turned back to the princess. "the truth is, this guy" she pointed at Konohamaru. "is a pervert!"

Konohamaru experienced a strange feeling... as he was torn between the desire to hug Moegi... and to strangle her to death.

Kotomi, on the other hand, remained frozen on the spot, safe for the occasional blinking. This continued for a few more seconds, after which she burst out laughing.

"T-that's a good one" she stuttered out, her hand close to her mouth, apparently trying to maintain her image. "You're funny, but I think you shouldn't joke like that!"

That only served to anger Moegi. "I'm not joking!"

"Um... girls?" Konohamaru interjected, trying to stay calm.

"Besides" Kotomi continued, unfazed. "It's natural to be interested in such things a little. Boys will be boys, you know?"

"A little?" Moegi asked, not paying attention to gestures that Konohamaru was making next to her. "Konohamaru is a proud follower of the school of peeping and perversion! His skills may rival the famous perverts like Uzumaki Naruto or even Jiraiya one of the legendary sannin!"

(* * *)

What are they talking about? Hanabi thought to herself. Most of the time she couldn't hear anything except some whispers. But now the voices inside the chamber were raised and they sounded excited, making Hanabi extremely curious (and jealous) as to what was happening inside. Despite the loud voices she couldn't figure out what they were talking about. And with Moegi and princess perfect who knows what could happen?

Well, there was nothing that Hanabi could do. Or maybe she could... no she couldn't, she wouldn't... but then again her job was to guard the princess. She couldn't do it if she didn't know what was going on, right? She wasn't doing anything wrong, she was just doing her job.

And with those thought Hanabi activated her Byakugan.

(* * *)

"Okay, that's enough!" Konohamaru said firmly, finally managing to grab the attention of both girls. "Could you please stop talking about that?"

"Oh don't worry Konohamaru-kun" Kotomi told him, seemingly viewing it as a great chance to appeal to him. "I won't like you any less because of that, you know..." she finished shyly.

"I already think you like me too much" Konohamaru told her before she could continue. "And you" he turned to Moegi. "Stop being a hypocrite!" he told her.

"Wha?" she asked back, dumbfounded. "What do you mean 'hypocrite'? It's you who are a pervert! Shall I remind you about some of your-"

"I mean that your are just as perverted as I am!" Konohamaru shot back at her. "You always treat me like that, but in reality you're just like me, but you hide it."

"What! How dare you!" Moegi told him, looking mortally offended and ready to slap him.

"Umm... I think you went a little overboard..." Kotomi said.

Konohamaru turned to Kotomi and then... smirked.

"Oh... is that what you think?" he asked in a weird tone and then clasped his hands together. Moegi's eyes widened that was...

Poof!

Five additional Konohamaru's appeared in clouds of white smoke.

"What's that?" Kotomi asked, her face a funny mix between interested and disturbed.

"Umm..." Moegi's voice was clearly laced with panic. "What are you trying to do?"

Her question was answered, when Konohamaru performed another handseal.

"Henge!"

There was another explosion of smoke and when it cleared... revealing six attractive and nude men posing before them... in pairs.

"Oiroke: otokonoko doushi no jutsu! Harem version!"

"What. Is. That?" Kotomi's question was a silly one, but she was answered nonetheless when the clones divided into a groups of three and approached each girl, snuggling close to them. Moegi reacted almost instantly, passing out without any further ado, a small rivulet of blood dripping from her nose.

Kotomi, on the other hand, seemed not fully comprehending what was happening.

"Kotomi-sama!" she was woken from her stupor by deep, masculine voices and her face immediately flushed beyond crimson.

"Eh... Eh. EH!" was all she managed to stammer before she was propelled backwards by a gush of blood and dropped to the floor unconscious.

Poof!

Konohamaru was back in his normal form and scratched the back of his head. He felt offended at Moegi's accusation, but he might've gone too far... Maybe he should call someone from outside...

He flinched. Hanabi might be outside! If she sees this. Crap... this wasn't such a good idea after all.

He slowly approached the door and opened it.

"Hanabi?"

To his surprise he couldn't see her. Huh? Wasn't she supposed to stand guard outside? Where did she go? He stepped outside... and slipped, almost falling over.

He looked down... only to notice a small puddle of blood and a red trail leading to the nearest bathroom.

(* * *)

It was some time later when Konohamaru finally managed to wriggle out of the princess's grasp, partially because of Moegi's accusation. It pained him a little that she would use such a method, but he couldn't deny that it had some effect and he would be able to spend the rest of the day without having to deal with the princess. Currently Ebisu and Moegi were on guard duty and it was probably a piece of cake, as Kotomi stayed in her room, probably thinking. Who knows, maybe she will give up on him after that?

That thought aside he couldn't help but groan when he thought about how messed up this entire situation was. It was as if everything was warped in the least convenient way for all of them. The only one that was missing was Udon and Konohamaru raised his head almost expecting him to pop up from around the corner.

Shit... he was so out of his element here... to think he once dreamed about situations like this. How stupid of him... He was slowly beginning to understand the simple truth – he could no longer just go with the flow, not with so many factors. He needed to figure things out, but how? This was a very delicate manner with both Hanabi and Moegi, as both girls were no strangers to violence and, despite that, they had a gentle side to them which was quite vulnerable. And the princess, while less violent, was definitely more problematic. Konohamaru didn't have to wait for tomorrow to know that.

He guessed he should just suck it up and start moving. He was a shinobi after all. He should be able to gather enough information to proceed. That being said, it was (hopefully) easy enough to do so in the case of Kotomi, who was a civilian, but Moegi and Hanabi were kunoichis – trying to pry information from them, especially regarding their feelings, would be difficult, not to mention plain dangerous.

The original plan assumed that Moegi liked him, while Hanabi didn't and the strategy was to slowly get Hanabi to like him, while gently getting Moegi to give up on him. The plan was already in motion for some time and in bore at least some fruit. He was even beginning to suspect that Udon didn't get himself hurt on accident, even if that still sounded ridiculous.

Nevermind that, the bottom line was that Konohamaru noticed Hanabi giving off some... signals. If that went on for a few more weeks he could actually become optimistic about the entire thing. But not now, when Kotomi seemed desperate for his attention and Moegi clearly tried to keep her at bay. In the current situation he should probably become a little more aggressive with Hanabi. If she indeed started to like him, then he should encourage her before she gets scared away by Kotomi. If she didn't like him, then all he risked was her learning of his intentions... and maybe some minor bodily damage... not that he wasn't used to them.

Yes, he should gamble a bit and see what comes of it, there was no point in just wandering blindly in this situation. Speaking of which, he raised his head, he was currently blindly wandering through palace corridors. That what he gets for thinking while walking.

He sighed heavily.

Well, he guessed he should start by searching for Hanabi, as Moegi and Kotomi were currently together and Ebisu was with them, no doubt trying to prevent both girls from inflicting mental and physical damage onto the other, if Ebisu's previous lecture to him was any indication of his intent.

With that being said he looked forward, only to see that his current corridor led straight ahead, so at least for now he didn't need to wonder about where to go. He just turned the corner when...

Bam!

He bumped into someone. Honestly, at this point he wasn't even bothered by at and didn't fall down. What's more, he wasn't even surprised that the one he bumped into was no-one else, but Hanabi herself.

He must be either really lucky or really unlucky for this to happen. Or maybe both.

"Oh hey" he told her, deciding to smile and go ahead with his plan from the very beginning. "I was just looking for you."

Unlike him, Hanabi seemed surprised by his appearance.

"Oh were you now?" she asked back in a quiet, but firm voice, making him blink.

What was happening? Was she angry with him? Well, if the bloody trails on the floor earlier had been any indication, then Hanabi deep inside might be just as perverted as everyone (only proving his point). The problem was: she was obviously going to pretend otherwise and become angry in the process.

However, was his assumption true or not? Hell, he didn't even know which option he preferred. For now he should try to maintain the conversation.

"Yes, I was" he replied. "My shift is over and I was thinking about relaxing a bit. You know, grabbing something to eat, things like that."

"And why would I be necessary for this?" she asked, her face and tone becoming more neutral – a sign she regained control... or was just getting more distant with him.

"Hanging out with teammates, you remember, right?"

By now Konohamaru was almost sure she was pissed, whether it was on him using his perverted jutsu or him spending time with Kotomi. But his argument was a wild card excuse – Hanabi had no reason to refuse and, with Udon back at Konoha, there was no-one else to accompany them, so it would be just the two of them.

Truly a frightening concept at the present time.

Hanabi remained silent for a moment scrutinizing him and Konohamaru briefly wondered if this was intentional or maybe she wasn't even aware of the vibes she was giving off.

"Very well" she said finally, turned around and started to walk. "Follow me and try not to get lost this time."

Konohamaru nodded even though she couldn't see him. This wasn't good – Hanabi seemed more and more like her old cold self. Seriously, how many times does he have to shake her from that?

(* * *)

"You know your way around this palace" Konohamaru told her when halfway through the dinner it became painfully obvious that she didn't plan to say anything.

He was currently sitting at the table opposite from Hanabi. The dinner was brought by the servants, since their mission contract warranted bed and board. The quality of the meal was not as good as those served for the princess, but it was still a substantial improvement over regular provisions shinobi used on missions.

"Hmpf, I was raised in a large mansion, so this is nothing" she spoke without looking at him. "But I guess it's not so easy for commoners. Especially for absent-minded knuckle-heads it seems."

If this was Moegi Konohamaru would jokingly ask what's got her panties in a twist, but in the current situation he guessed he needed to rephrase that.

"What's wrong?" Konohamaru asked, which made her face him for a moment. He found it unfortunate that the tables in the palace all seemed at least twice or thrice their regular lengths. It certainly put needless distance between them. Literally.

"Nothing's wrong" she answered him matter-of-factly.

"Oh c'mon. I thought we were past this" he told her and continued before she could retort. "Look, I can see that something is wrong. I don't know if you're trying to hide it, but if you do then it doesn't work."

Hanabi didn't deny, but didn't speak either. Well, it was progress at least. Konohamaru was in two minds, but decided to ask anyway.

"Is this about my... jutsu?"

"W-what jutsu?" she asked, trying act nonchalant, but Konohamaru caught on her stuttering. And she answered a little too quick.

"You know what jutsu" he told her, allowing himself a small smirk when she wasn't looking.

"Oh" she replied, as if she only now understood. "You mean that pathetic useless perverted disgusting jutsu?"

"Oh" he mimicked her. "I don't know about it being useless. It worked on you after all."

"W-what do you mean?" her tone was accusing, but it was obvious that this particular comment affected her greatly, because her face was completely red by now and Konohamaru could bet it wasn't from anger.

"I mean the that you got quite the nosebleed there" he wanted to say that he was proud of her, but he decided he'd rather stay alive.

Hanabi seethed with both anger and embarrassment. It wasn't what Konohamaru wanted to see, but he guessed it was better than her being quiet and ignoring him.

But then she composed herself and asked him a question.

"Well, what did the princess think about your wonderful technique?"

"Huh?"

"I saw you gave her a... direct presentation."

"Moegi was calling me a pervert and I just taught both of them how hypocrites they were" he answered.

"Are you sure there was nothing more to it?" Hanabi asked, looking at him directly.

Konohamaru met her gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure the princess... enjoyed your... presentation" she told him and Konohamaru blinked. What was she implying? But Hanabi continued.

"It must be nice to have a member of a royal family yearning for your attention" her voice was calm, but Konohamaru didn't buy it. "Going on a dates and all. Like a dream come true, right?"

Konohamaru was speechless for a moment.

"She is our client and-"

"And we have to guard her and nothing more. Last time I checked guarding doesn't require marriage."

"Whoa, whoa!" he raised his hands in defense. "I'm not getting married."

"Really?" she replied. "From the outside it almost looks like the two of you are engaged."

"We're not" Konohamaru told her firmly. "I know that she would like if we were, though I don't know why. But we're not. What more do you want me to do?" he asked her, feeling that he was losing the little bit of control he maintained until now. "She's not pushy and she's nice girl and-"

"What would I want you to do?" she repeated after him. "This doesn't have anything to do with me" she told him. "And don't you think she's acting a little too nice? Don't you find it suspicious?"

Konohamaru didn't answer, he tilted his head sideways instead, his face showing that he was becoming more and more confused. This didn't make sense... unless... No, it couldn't be, could it? Hanabi however didn't notice this and continued her rant.

"That girl, that... princess... she's impudent, shameless. Did you see the way she dresses? She's obviously trying to seduce you and who knows what are her real reasons for doing this! I don't like her and I don't trust her..." she continued her rambling for a few more seconds but then stopped abruptly when she noticed the strange look on Konohamaru's face, look that could only be described as disbelief. And then a faint smile appeared on his face.

"What's so funny?" she asked him. Oh, that nerve of him!

Konohamaru just shook his head. "It's not funny... I just... can't believe it."

"Can't believe what?"

"You're jealous."

Hanabi froze on the spot, except for her lips, which opened and closed for a few times.

"W-what?" she stammered after a moment, but quickly regained her composure. "Are you crazy? Why would I be jealous of you of all people?"

"You tell me" Konohamaru stood up as well, remaining surprisingly calm.

"What?"

"Why would you get jealous?"

"I-I'm telling you I'm not!" she told him bravely, but wasn't unaffected, as evident by her aflame face.

He decided, it was now or never.

"Don't be mad" he told her slowly. "I don't like Kotomi."

"Yes and you can go back to her and, and... what?" she finished incredulous. And only then she noticed that he walked closer and was now standing right next to her. Her mouth refused to listen to her for a moment.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to sound harsh and hostile, but she failed completely. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I told you" he replied, although now he wasn't faring so good as well. "I don't like Kotomi... I mean, she's a nice girl and all... but I like someone else."

It took Hanabi a moment to process this information, but then she narrowed her eyes. "Then I suppose you should tell this to Moegi and-" but her words died out when Konohamaru reached out and grabbed her hands.

"Hanabi" he spoke calmly, making her snap her attention from their joined hands and up to his eyes.

No... she must be dreaming...

"The one I like is not Kotomi. And certainly not Moegi..."

This couldn't be happening.

"The one I like... the one I liked for some time now... is you Hanabi."

The world around them faded away, everything except her, Konohamaru and the burning feeling in her hands ceased to exist. It was so surreal that she couldn't react, staring idly into his face.

Konohamaru, on the other hand, seemed much more embarrassed, because he looked away and his face was colored pink and, from what she could

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me and the princess" he continued. "I know this is a little sudden, but... would you go out with me?"

In retrospect it was a terrible thing to do. This was what she wanted, after all. But somehow her heart didn't soar like she thought it was supposed to. Maybe it was her pride, maybe it was confusion and shock. Maybe it was going too fast and she was just not ready for it yet, too scared to accept it. Or maybe she was simply overwhelmed.

Whatever it was, it made her react badly.

"Me? A daughter of a Hyuuga clan head? Go out with you?" she asked back, but there was something in her voice that made Konohamaru flinch.

That was not a good sign.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he questioned, slowly losing his composure.

"I-I" Hanabi was out of breath, despite not doing anything. Her mind was completely blank at this point, her mouth moving on its own. "Well, what makes you think I like you?" she asked. "You're just obnoxious, perverted loudmouth, why would I go out with you?"

Konohamaru was dumbfounded, but before any of them could proceed they heard the sound of the doors opening. They both turned immediately only to see Moegi standing in the doorway.

"I just finished my shift, Ebisu-sensei said he will manage by himself for the evening" she said mechanically, looking at the two of them. "Umm... did I interrupt something?"

This remark seemed to bring Hanabi back to reality, as she quickly snapped her hands from Konohamaru's and then quickly exited the room, not looking back.

Konohamaru cursed under his breath and followed her, only to stop when he felt a tug at his arm. He turned around and, sure enough, Moegi has grabbed him, her face cast downwards.

"Wait" she told him simply, her voice soft and rather un-Moegi-like.

"Um, Moegi" he said, trying to sound calm. "Sorry, I have something important to do right now."

"Good" she told him. "Cause I have something important to tell you as well.

No. No, no, no. Please not now, Konohamaru thought, slowly turning around. Everything but that. Don't make me act like a complete jerk. Not now of all times. Think, think, how can you get away from this predic-

"Konohamaru-kun" Moegi said and raised her head. Here eyes were shining from intense emotion, though Konohamaru couldn't guess it was.

"Yes" he asked automatically, but he already know what was coming. So it at last came back to bit him in the ass.

Moegi hesitated for a moment. This wasn't as she envisioned it, but due to the last events she had to act fast. And there was something else that made her heart unsteady lately and she had to make sure.

Moegi then took a deep breath and spoke and although Konohamaru foresaw it long ago, he still was rooted on the spot when he heard her say those three words.

"I love you."

(* * *)

**First: review, review and review! Reviews are my air and I would really like to know what you think of this particular chapter... even if I am a little... anxious about it.**

**I think the title of this chapter represents its contents quite well, as we have some serious and messy developments here.**

**I also need to confess that I got quite attached to the character of the princess. If this wasn't a KonoHana fanfiction then... who knows. Also sorry, if this chapter feels to be more about Kotomi than anything else... at least the first part.**

**As I said at the beginning, we're quickly getting to the end of this story, so stay tuned!**

**See you next time!**


	26. A token of love

**Hello, everyone!**

**It was a month since the last chapter, but I'm finally back... with the next to last chapter of the Flowers of Trees!**

**First, I would like to apologize in advance... this chapter is not exactly what I wanted it to be, some parts feel forced (at least to me) and not perfectly connected to each other. The entire thing escalates and resolves rather quickly... Maybe too quickly for some of the readers, but it seems there's nothing I can do about it...**

**Next, as for the monthly break (not that it's any surprise at this point): I was lazy and had difficulty with the story as usual... it's good thing I had a really long weekend... But this time I blame the break mostly on The World God Only Knows (TWGOK) manga, which managed to completely mesmerize me to the point where I know what my next fanfiction will be about (probably). I got me so hooked that it started to seriously interfere with my real work.**

**Also, I blame TWGOK for the name of this chapter, but I think it fits... it's certainly an improvement over the last time when the chapter name was chosen at the very end.**

**As the last note: this is officially the longest chapter in this story. You have been warned... well it's not like you didn't have to deal with ridiculously long chapters before...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and its various plot developments... but I do own this fanfiction and I take responsibility for the various strange plots my readers have to deal with...**

**(* * *)**

I love you.

Those were the words Konohamaru dreaded. Not like. Not maybe love. Just love. A strong confession... one that would require an equally strong rejection... if he managed to do it.

Moegi shifted her eyes to the side, blushing madly. "I-I know this might come as a shock to you."

"Not really..." he told her, even though he didn't plan on doing it.

"Yeah, I... wait, what?"

"Look, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer" he admitted. "But I'm not that stupid..."

"You mean, you knew it all the time?" she took a step back... and then took two steps forward, making Konohamaru lean back. "Why didn't you said anything?!" she said, no shouted.

"You know why..."

"No, I don't" she told him boldly, but he could tell her anger was intended to hide the other emotion which was inevitable. "So tell me."

"Moegi" he told her slowly, not faring too well on his own. He just messed big time and probably lost one friendship and more... now he was on the route to losing another one. "I am.. very... flattered that you think of me in... that way... but Udon and you are like a brother and sister to me... I'm sorry... but I just don't think about you in that way..."

It was the best he could do right now. It was cruel, but still the most viable solution. He just hoped it would end with that.

How naïve of him.

"So... so what?" Moegi replied after a moment of silence, proving she would not back down without a fight. She grabbed his shoulders, getting dangerously close and making his brain reel with panic. "There's no harm in trying, right? Just give me a chance. That's all I am asking you. Is this not enough?"

Konohamaru foresaw this argument as well. And while he planned to firmly reject her, he found himself softening. Maybe there was really no harm in that... it would help Moegi realize... even if it meant more pain for her in the end...

...or at least that's what he would probably decide before... but now... with Hanabi and his heart bleeding right now he couldn't. He jest couldn't.

"No..." he told her, trying to push her away, but not really succeeding. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. It would be a lie. That's not how things like that work."

"How can you know that?" she asked in return. "I love you! Is this not reason enough to try? No matter what you say, I'll still love you!"

Truth be told, by this point Konohamaru expected her to bring up Hanabi. Or at least Kotomi. But Moegi was choosing a different approach. And she said she loved him a total of three times.

On one hand it wasn't anything strange... but on the other hand... He didn't have any hard argument, but something didn't add up... why was she so persistent? It's not like he had any reason to doubt her feelings and...

Wait.

"If it don't work out then we can always just end it, not hard feelings and-"

"Stop!" he told her, this time managing to push her away.

"What?" she asked, clearly surprised by his roughness. "You could be a little more gentle, you know and-" she stopped when she saw the look in his face. He wasn't as meek and confused as he was just a few seconds ago. He looked determined and... angry?

"Are you really sure about it?" he asked her.

"Of course! There's no harm in trying?"

"Not that!" he told her. Oh, Kami, please help him after he says what had to be said. "Are you really sure that you love me?"

"W-what?" Moegi asked. "O-of course I am! I have felt this way about you for months, years even!" it was true, but her stuttering only confirmed Konohamaru's suspicions.

"I'm not talking about what you felt years ago!" he told her. "I'm asking what are you feeling right now! Are you sure there is no doubt in your heart?"

"What... what do you mean" she asked back meekly, her face growing a little pale.

This was all he needed to hear.

"This is about Udon, right? You are hesitant because of what happened lately" he stated, not asked.

"O-of course not! How could you even-"

"To think you would try to hide it from me" he told her. "You're just trying to run away from those doubts. You're trying to use me and then blame it all on me when things don't work out... I never thought you would run away from things like that. I'm disappointed in you."

And he truly was... maybe not as much as he let it on... but still...

"H-how dare you!" she shouted at him, tears of embarrassment, sadness, anger or guilt threatening to spill from her eyes. Before he could reply she slugged him in the stomach, making him bend it half. Any jounin would be proud of such punch. "I was wrong about you, Sarutobi Konohamaru, you insensitive jerk!"

And with this she was gone, the sound of her crying slowly dying out, leaving Konohamaru all alone. He slowly slumped down, by some miracle managing to land on a chair.

This was terrible. This all was beyond messed up. Still, he thought, fighting off his own tears, it could be so much much worse.

It was not over yet... he guessed that a long night full of grieve and remorse awaited him. And nothing will happen to get his mind off his gloomy thoughts.

In retrospect he was right... at least for the first part.

(* * *)

Hanabi wasn't exactly paying attention when running through the corridors and, if she was more conscious of her surroundings, she would actually question how did she manage to find the room she shared with Moegi. She didn't even remember going (or most likely jumping) into her bed, but she finally realized that she had to do so, because that's where she was right now.

In her bed, crying her heart out.

It didn't take much to admit that she wasn't the smartest shinobi out there... she would sometimes make mistakes... usually small ones. But she was generally regarded by herself and by others to be collected and smart individual. So why...

Why did she do that thing back there?

What twisted, stupid, useless part of her told her to do that? She could've said she didn't believe him, she could fake being proud and tell him that it wasn't enough and he should try more. Finally, she could've just squeal like a little girl and jump into his arms. That wouldn't be very noble, modest or lady-like...

But it would still be a hundred times better that what she had done.

Why. It was a valid question she had no answer for and she dreaded that answer... but there was another, more important question right now. Why, was not really a problem. The problem was WHAT did she do. And what did it mean for her.

Okay, let's calm down and analyze the facts.

She got angry... not, jealous and tried to give Konohamaru a cold shoulder (why did she do it again? Way to show him that you care!) and then he confessed... There was no other way of putting it. It wasn't her delusion... and he wasn't pulling a prank on her... It wasn't particularly strong confession, he didn't say he loved her (why would he)... but he admitted he liked her...

That alone should be enough... What more did they need? She obviously liked him and he apparently liked her. With this alone they could carry on and reach a more... permanent solution.

All it took was her admitting she liked him back. And did she do it?

No, she didn't. Instead she went and screwed probably the most obvious chance of her life. The world for once chose to make things easy for her and she failed... or maybe it was to force her to show her true colors... to show that she wasn't capable of doing anything right... Now she was back to being a background character, a subordinate not able to do anything on her own...

Dammit! She punched the bed, letting her anger get the better of her. A few more punches latter and the bed wasn't so good quality as before, but she didn't care. It wasn't helping. The anger wasn't going to make these feeling disappear. Her body reacted instantly, switching to another emotions.

Sadness.

Crying wasn't something a Hyuuga would do... at least not openly. And while she rarely ever cried, she knew how to hide it. So she pushed her head into the pillow, hoping to muffle the sound of her own sobbing. And in that state she lost her sense of time, drown in her own misery.

(* * *)

It was already past late evening when she heard the door to her room open and then close quickly after. She didn't need to face the door to know that it was Moegi. Hanabi forced herself to remain quiet. With little luck Moegi will think she was asleep. She waited and, sure enough, she heard the orange-haired girl lie down on her bed.

Putting that aside, where Moegi had been all this time? Does that mean that she really used the opportunity to be alone with Konohamaru? And what if she confessed? And Konohamaru accepted? It wasn't completely illogical... Konohamaru might have liked Hanabi, but she rejected him... who knew what he could do then? Did she really did it? Did Hanabi permanently lost her chance to have what she apparently wanted that much?

This brought a new wave of grief. She tried hard not to start crying while Moegi was in the room, but soon the sound made it out anyway – a quiet sobbing could be heard. Hanabi cursed inwardly at her own powerlessness, wanting nothing more but to disappear. Thrown deep into her own thoughts, it took her good several seconds to realize that the sobbing sound she heard wasn't coming from her.

It was coming from Moegi.

What the hell?

What did it mean? Could it be that Konohamaru rejected her? Granted, Hanabi didn't know whether he liked her or not... but in her situation... wasn't it logical to accept confession like that? Moegi was a strong rival and with a good reason – the girl possibly knew Konohamaru like no-one else... Sometimes Hanabi actually felt threatened by the orange-haired, despite her Hyuuga resistance to be swayed by emotions...

Or maybe she had finally lost that ability, the skill to quell to hide her emotions... or even more, the ability to not feel in the first place...

Ugh... thinking about such things was no good! She should think about what to do now. It was true that she felt a tiny, just a tiny bit of remorse after hearing Moegi cry, but she couldn't make anymore mistakes. So... what she should do now? Should she go to try and find him? Explain that it wasn't what she meant... But he wouldn't believe her, right? And... if he was feeling as bad as she was, would he accept even if he believed her? What if she was in his shoes? Would she accept him in that case?

Tch... what was she even thinking about, getting ahead of herself? She chickened out when he confessed... what made her think that she actually be brave enough to be the one to confess after such a royal mess-up?

Wait a minute... royal?

Shit... she completely forgot about the last remaining piece of puzzle. What of Kotomi, the princess? If Konohamaru had been rejected by Hanabi and rejected Moegi... then... what reason would he have to reject Kotomi as well?

At this her heart sunk... it seemed that as soon as she gathered some resolve, the life threw another thing at her...

Ugh... maybe she should stop blaming others for her own mistakes. It wasn't Moegi or Kotomi that messed the chance for her... It was Hanabi herself.

She seemed to be floating between two worlds. Not enough emotionally-detached to not care and not skilled enough to be able to actually achieve something... she was outside of both words... Not needed in any of them... Belonging to neither of them...

Useless...

She didn't know how long she was lying, her tears already dried and calming down just a little bit. Moegi's sobbing died out a long time ago. Was the girl sleeping? It was just a wild guess, mainly caused by the fact that Hanabi felt like falling asleep herself.

But it was a bad idea. There was no time for sleeping! She should man up (as ridiculous as it sounded), get up and try to save the situation, before the princess will make her move. She was ahead of her too much already.

And then, when she finally decided that she had to do something, anything, her acute shinobi hearing recognized three distinct mechanical sounds. They were rather quiet and sounded distant, meaning they were probably quite loud in reality. Hanabi remained quiet, her shinobi duty telling her to stay alert. And for good reason, because the sounds were followed by a lengthly swish, as if something was traveling through air at high speed.

At this point she turned around to look at Moegi's bed and she noticed the orange-haired girl looking back at her unmoving, her eyes widened, clearly indicating she was hearing it and didn't like it as well.

The swish was quickly gaining in intensity, Hanabi opened her mouth to speak when...

KABOOM!

Three explosions shook the palace, making Hanabi and Moegi jump out of their beds, looking around, noticing nothing out of ordinary, except for a plaster shower from the ceiling.

"What's happening?" Moegi asked. "Are we under attack?"

"Seems so... but how?" Hanabi answered. "It felt like someone bombarded us from distance... are they planning to bring the entire palace down?"

She activated her Byakugan and quickly noticed the damage – two gaping holes of varying size and one patch of burn-out ground, all three spots on fire. The attack wasn't very accurate and seemed to land in places where there was no-one around, not strange given the hour.

"Can you see the attackers?" Moegi asked, already in full gear, her scrolls and stuff ready.

"No, I can't... they must be hiding some distance from the palace. I wonder how did they got through the border in the first place and-"

She stopped when the strange sound was back, this time she counted six or eight occurrences. And soon she could hear the familiar swish and could see the projectiles – large spiked balls literally coated with explosive tags.

She watched as three balls collided with the palace walls, the rest was off the target... landing and exploding on the palace grounds, relatively harmlessly.

"Shit!" Moegi cursed. "It doesn't look like it's going to end anytime soon, we need to get to the princess!"

Hanabi didn't have to be told twice. They rushed throughout the corridors, moving past the few guards and servants running around in chaos.

"Okay, I see them!" Hanabi told Moegi. "Ebisu-sensei and K-Konohamaru are moving along with the princess and some people."

"Alright" Moegi answered, though Hanabi couldn't help but notice the strange edge in her voice. "Lead the way."

Hanabi only nodded and navigated both of them through the maze that was the palace chambers. Two more explosive volleys later they have finally reached the others.

"You're finally here" Ebisu told them without greetings and no-one could blame him. Hanabi glanced at the princess, mainly because that way she didn't have to look at Konohamaru. She was in a middle of an important mission. There was no place for unprofessional behavior. However, only now did she realize that it was Konohamaru who was dragging the princess along and this revelation stung.

"No time to waste!" Ebisu continued. "We're moving to one of the shelters around here. Hanabi, help navigate the way!"

"Yes!"

"So what's happening?" Moegi asked once they were on their way, moving slow enough for the others to follow, surprisingly the chamberlain seemed to not lag behind, the fear working miracles. "Where are they attacking from? And who are they?"

"We can't be sure" Ebisu answered. "My guess it that they're shinobi and either entered the country by force or sneaked in as per regular contract, though the latter is unlikely. If they could do that, they wouldn't attack so openly!"

"Speaking of which, how they are attacking us?" Hanabi asked. "They are well beyond the range of my Byakugan, yet the projectiles fly at high speed. Is this some kind of special jutsu?"

"Possible, but unlikely" Ebisu answered. "I reckon they simply summoned some machines prepared to hurl such projectiles. It's not that complicated and with technology these days... Still, I'm much more interested in who they are" Ebisu turned to Haku. "Are you sure you don't know anything?"

"Nothing more that a couple guesses, most of them baseless and none of them are shinobi" the chamberlain answered, through his labored breathing.

"You don't seem particularly surprised about this attack" Konohamaru said and it was the first thing Hanabi heard him say since... that time and it made her finally look at him. He looked as he usually did when in middle of action – eyes focused, face oddly determined, his features sharp, all this were like little needles of regret making their way to her heart.

Despite that she noticed that Kotomi was following his lead somewhat clumsily, not really a surprise, but she seemed as if not fully comprehending what was happening. As cruel as it sounded, this was kind of relieving... the last thing Hanabi wanted was for her to jump in Konohamaru's arms and happily play the role of a damsel in distress... This actually meant that maybe, just maybe she had been mistaken about the princess, which only served to increase her guilt.

It was all her fault... she had brought this upon herself.

"Things happen" the chamberlain answered Konohamaru's question. "Not every week or month, but they do. Still, I don't remember such an open attack. Even when surrounding nations were at war it wasn't as bad, as we knew of such a possibility" he paused for a moment when all of them crouched as another set of explosions shook the place. "Is it just me or does the attack seem... unrefined?"

"That's what I thought too, the attacks are poorly executed and too random" Ebisu remarked, setting his glasses back in place. "I'm afraid that our enemies are either really sly or really stupid... and I don't know which option is worse. Such powerful weapon in unskilled hands can bring more destruction than originally intended."

"Yes, I couldn't agree more" the chamberlain answered. "Ah! Here we are, the royal shelter!"

They have arrived at an crude but impressive gate, after which there was man-made cave, a fortress reinforced with layers of concrete and steel. Nothing unbreachable for a team of shinobi and a few hours... but if you weren't a shinobi or you had little time then it was the very next thing to a safe place.

"Kotomi-sama!" the chamberlain tried to catch Kotomi's attention, while various people around them were headed inside the vault, except for the princess personal guards and servants. However, the princess herself remained unresponsive, looking blankly at the chamberlain, as if he wasn't there.

Konohamaru sighed and used his other hand to gently pat the princess on the cheek.

"Kotomi..." she stated gently, choosing to drop the formalities.

This seemed to work, as the princess flinched, shifted her eyes, trying to look at her cheek and then shifted them again, her gaze resting on Konohamaru.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

A second of silence.

"Aaaah!" Kotomi all but screamed, stepping back, her face a definition of crimson. "Yes, yes, I'm fine, don't worry about me" she asked the impossible, while turning around, her hands at her cheek. Despite the situation Hanabi had the urge to facepalm. The girl cared more for appearing weak or embarrassed in front of... them than for looking for her own safety.

Figures.

"Alright, everyone into the vault!" Moegi said what seemed obvious, but Ebisu interjected.

"Moegi and Hanabi, you head with the others inside the vault" he ordered.

"What?" Hanabi asked, incredulous. "What about you, sensei? And K-Konohamaru?"

"We will go meet the enemy head on" he answered. "If the situation is what we think it is, then the best solution is to destroy whatever equipment the enemy is using to attack us."

"Then let me-"

"No can do" Ebisu stopped her, his voice becoming more commanding. "Half of us have to stay and guard the princess and my experience and Konohamaru's shadow clones are the best we can use out there. Let's move!"

"Don't worry" Konohamaru said, although he seemed to direct his words to Haku, instead of any of the girls. "We'll be fine!" and with that the two shinobi were gone.

You better be, Hanabi thought, some unexplainable feeling of dread, clutching at her throat like an invisible hand.

You better be.

(* * *)

Everyone was brought inside the shelter and the large gate was closed, leaving the people inside in half-darkness with no sounds except for whispers and rumbling when another volley hit the palace or the surrounding terrain.

They stayed like that for ten minutes, though it seemed like ten hours. And with each passing minute Hanabi's thought became blacker and blacker. What if something happened? It was true that there was nothing she could do, the order of her captain and the shinobi duty binding her to this place, but this just made everything worse.

She hated being powerless.

Why... why was it happening now? Why Konohamaru couldn't confess to her back in Konoha, when everything was calm and she had time to think... Now she felt that she screwed big time and had no way to recover. What did she do to deserve this?

And maybe... maybe all of this was excuse. Maybe it's not the problem of her deserving such problems... maybe it was about her not deserving Konohamaru. It was logical after all... Yes, he did confess, but let's face it – why would he want an arrogant, cold scrawny girl with attitude problems? Was he a masochist? Unlikely...

It's not that she only realized it now... but she figured she would be able to work things out... to change herself, even if only by little... Maybe she was wrong after all... And now it seemed the opportunity has passed her by.

Perhaps she should just move on. Quell her emotion like she did so often before and move on. But she couldn't... not anymore... She couldn't ignore it. It hurt. It was all her fault and she couldn't do anything to change the situation... but it still... hurt. It was as if she was still back in her bed in the palace room, crying her heart out.

Nothing has changed.

She was brought out from her musings by another explosion. This one, however, was different. While, loud and powerful, it sounded distant. Too far for any perceptible shaking to occur.

Hanabi immediately activated her Byakugan. She used it to see past the thick walls and into the evening darkness, except it wasn't nearly as dark as she had expected. The explosion has already ended, all that was left of it was a large column of dark smoke and glow of resulting fire in the place where the explosion took place. There were also multiple fires around the place, where the projectiles had landed, all serving to illuminate the place.

"What's happening?" Moegi asked, stance as if she was ready to fight some invisible foe.

"There was explosion way beyond the palace grounds" Hanabi explained. "I reckon it's where the enemy was attacking from."

"Maybe, maybe Konohamaru and sensei reached them and they chose to sabotage their equipment... and it seems that the attacks stopped" she paused for a moment, in which two more projectiles were fired and reached the palace. "Well, most of them anyway" she added.

It sounded logical and Hanabi really hoped for it to be true, but there was no solid proof, meaning they should be prepared for anything.

"We can't be sure and-" she didn't finish because another set of explosions followed and now Hanabi could see them clearly – suddenly the night turned into day as at least a dozen fireballs emerged, forming a line. It looked as if the palace retaliated and showered the enemy with their own projectiles, but that was not the case. It was as if the enemy equipment really was being destroyed. That part was fine. However, the explosions were ridiculously large. If Konohamaru and Ebisu were the one to start them... and they were too close...

"W-what now?" Moegi asked again, clearly not liking the look on Hanabi's face.

"I don't know" the Hyuuga answered. "It looks like the enemy is being blown up... but the size of the explosions... It looks more like a suicide mission... Are you sure you're not at war?" she asked the chamberlain, who nodded his head.

She bit her lip. This made no sense... what kind of group would attack a neutral country using that kind of equipment with no warning whatsoever? Were they exploiting the peaceful times after the war? And why were they acting so risky and with disregard to their own safety? Were they some fanatics ready to die for the mission, while the mastermind was safe at home waiting for results? It certainly did sound like a job for shinobi.

"That doesn't sound good" Moegi commented, tossing a glance at the civilians, most of them clearly terrified. Even guards didn't look as collected as they should be. "What do we do? Konohamaru and sensei are out there! What if they got too close and..."

That was exactly what Hanabi was thinking, but what could they do?

"I know, but..."

Moegi opened her mouth to speak, but didn't manage to say anything, because the princess beat her to it.

"Go"

At this Hanabi, Moegi and Haku turned to look at her, incredulous.

"What?" Moegi was first to react.

"Kotomi-sama, you cannot mean to-"

"Yes, I can and I do" the princess told the chamberlain, her voice a little shaky, but expression firm, and then turned to the girls. "You should go out there instead of staying here."

"Are you stupid?" Hanabi asked, not paying attention to the etiquette. "We're supposed to guard you, remember? How can we do that if we're out there?!" she said that, but deep in her heart she wanted nothing, but to go looking for Konohamaru.

"You saw that explosion, right?" Kotomi told her. "There's no telling what's happening over there and no-one is completely safe as long as those... things are out there firing at us! Don't worry about us, this room is like a fortress, they won't get in so easily. That's the best way you can protect us right now. And I know you worry about Ko-about your teammates. Just go!"

"I'm not convinced and I very much doubt His Majesty would approve of that... but, you might be right, Kotomi-sama" the chamberlain said.

Hanabi glanced at Moegi, who nodded hesitantly. Hanabi herself wasn't completely sure, but she decided to move out – missions were important, but she won't leave comrades out there like that, consequences be damned.

"Before we can open the door-"

"Don't worry" Hanabi replied "I have looked around with my Byakugan, there is not-one outside. Just open the door a small opening is enough."

The chamberlain looked back at Kotomi in order to make sure one more time and then sighed.

"Very well."

Not a half minute later Kotomi was watching as the door to the shelter closed and locked, separating them from the outside world yet again. And then she sighed, a wistful look on her face.

"So... I didn't stood a chance from the very beginning, huh?" she whispered.

"Kotomi-sama?"

"It's nothing..."

(* * *)

"Let's split up!" Hanabi spoke while she and Moegi were running through the rooftops.

"Right" Moegi answered. "I'll go towards the enemy main line..." she pointed at the smoking inferno ahead of them. "...and you search the surrounding area!"

Konohamaru was most likely exactly where Moegi intended to go, but that was logically the best strategy. Moegi will search the most obvious place and she could probably meet up with Ebisu. Hanabi, on the other hand, will search other places using her Byakugan.

With this being said Hanabi bounced from the next building wall and went into the other direction, her kekkei genkai up and running.

However, her all-direction vision yielded no results. No enemies, no Ebisu and no Konohamaru. By now even Moegi escaped from her field of view.

She gritted her teeth. Where was everyone and where was Konohamaru? She could see no bodies, no blood, no signs of battle, except for the obvious damage from the bombardment. Where was everyone? Could they all be where the explosion happened?

She changed her vision to a focused one, trying to see as far as possible in the direction Moegi went.

And then she finally saw some chakra. Her heart jumped, but she told herself to stay focused. This could be enemy after all. Soon, however, it turned out that it was no enemy.

It was Ebisu.

"Sensei!" she shouted when she got into hearing distance and then landed some distance from him. This was certainly no henge and no genjutsu, but it could be some enemy trap.

"Hanabi?" Ebisu asked as if suspecting a genjutsu as well. He wasn't injured, but he looked like he was exhausted already. He probably used his shadow clones. This particular thought make her remember she wasn't able to learn the technique herself. If only she could scout several directions at once... "I was about to check on you! What are you doing out here?"

She stayed silent for a moment in order to gather her thoughts. Talking to her captain was completely different than talking to Kotomi after all.

"I'm sorry taichou, but me and Moegi decided that the enemy has to be eradicated and that you needed a backup after that explosion."

"And what about the princess?"

"She's in the well-protected shelter. It's our best shot" she told him, but it wasn't as strong an argument as she wished it to be.

"That's not how we usually proceed on duty!" Ebisu yelled and then calm down. "But this time you're might be right. With enemies like these..."

This did nothing to calm Hanabi down.

"Are they that strong? What village are they from?"

"They're not that strong and that's the problem!" Ebisu told her. "They're not from one particular village and they appear to be missing-nins, typical guys involved in coup d'etat and assassinations... but their organization is poor and they certainly don't know how to properly use their equipment... that explosion was done by them and by accident! Those idiots are more dangerous than many experienced shinobi would be in this situation!" he paused for a moment. "Me and Konohamaru deployed several shadow clones, but most got wiped out in the explosion and-"

He was interrupted by a sound of another explosion, although much smaller than the one before... but it was quickly followed by at least two dozens more, further supporting Ebisu's story – incompetent enemies seemed to be much less predictable and more dangerous than many competent ones.

"Shit!" Ebisu cursed. "This is getting out of hand!"

Hanabi couldn't agree more.

"Where is Konohamaru?"

Ebisu turned back to look at her, waiting for a moment before answering.

"He was with me at the front lines, but we got separated during the explosion and I didn't see him since then" he said. "But I'm sure he's fine and-Hanabi! Hanabi!" but his shouting was in vain, the Hyuuga girl was already running away from him and closer to the battlefield.

"Shit..." Ebisu repeated. "What is Hyuuga's emotion suppressing good for if they can't deal with them after they get out?" he asked to no-one in particular, after which he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

(* * *)

Calm down, he's fine, Hanabi told herself, trying to quell her panic. Calm down, calm down.

It wasn't working.

It was all her fault.

On second thought it wasn't. As bad as it was, it was quite common situation on such missions. There was nothing more she could do about enemy attack.

But she could do something different. She could have just accepted Konohamaru. She should have. She wanted to! But she wasn't able to...

But he liked her! He truly did! What if he wasn't focused because he was thinking of her? What if she will never get a chance to make things right... What if he...

No, he couldn't... he wouldn't dare do that to her or she will kick his ass!

She stopped the tears threatening to spill from her eyes and continued to scan her surroundings for chakra signatures. Actually, she started to notice some as soon as she got close to the charred explosion site. The chakra belonged to enemy shinobi, most of the dead, their chakra barely noticeable, like a wisp of smoke. The buildings around had also sustained more or less damage, some of them were building, but she could see no civilians – they have probably escaped as soon as the attack started. The enemy was apparently not interested in them.

Aside from that she still couldn't see anyone of her comrades. Not even Moegi or Ebisu's clones. Where was everyone? They couldn't just disappear without some trace... like... blood.

The bad feeling she was getting increased, but she refused to give up. It has happened before – she has disappeared, but Konohamaru followed after her. Now, she will do the same for him.

She was just about to continue the search with her Byakugan, when she noticed something in the corner of her eye. It was something she would probably miss when using her kekkei genkai, simply because it had no chakra and she wasn't technically looking for it. It was no person nor a body, at the beginning it was just a glimpse of color among the gray and smoky surroundings, but once she focused on it she recognized it.

She landed quickly and after a moment she dropped to her knees, refusing to believe what she was seeing and what it could mean. She reached out with her hands and grabbed the object, bringing it closer to inspect it, seeking for any signs of deception, but there was none.

In her hands she was holding Konohamaru's blue scarf.

For a moment she couldn't move or think, but then her brain seemed to reset. She turned around to look for any clues and then she noticed some trails. Of course, there were trails everywhere, as she was already in the fight zone. However, some of them lead from her current position, so it was a good news.

The bad news was that the trails consisted of footprints and bloody marks. There wasn't really much of it, but it was blood nonetheless.

She pulled herself together, activated her Byakugan and started to follow the trail, scarf in her hands, praying she would find Konohamaru safe and sound.

(* * *)

While Hanabi encountered only dead or incapacitated enemies, Moegi was less lucky. The enemy wasn't really skilled and relied mostly on shinobi tools, explosive tags in particular. Such tool was dangerous if used incorrectly and normally Moegi would have little to no trouble dealing with such an enemy. However, she has been completely focused on looking for Konohamaru and her current state of mind was not very stable, thus she was taken by surprise and the enemy outnumbered her six to one, assuming that was all of them.

Combined with the explosive tags it meant big trouble.

Moegi employed the darkness and destroyed terrain to the best of her ability and managed to take down three of them, but the ending result was still unfavorable, because they had managed to surrounded and corner her.

She had to think fast. She retrieved one of her own explosive tags from her pouch and hid it behind her back. He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword, right?

She faked weakness to the last moment, then aimed carefully, threw the tag and jumped to the side, falling from the edge of the rooftop she was standing on just a second ago and grabbing one of the wooden planks sticking out from the side of the building.

The explosion followed, threatening to sweep her away, accompanied by a deathly scream. Moegi tried not to think that she just killed someone. Not the first, not the last.

She was just about to pull herself up, when she noticed two figures, one with serious injuries, standing on the edge of the rooftop above her – both of them prepared to strike her. This time she had no time to think. Could she even get out of this situation alone?

However, she never learned the answer to this question, because one of the figures stumbled forward after being hit by several kunais in the back, falling to its death. The other figure turned around, ready to strike, apparently not aware that turning its back to Moegi was not a good idea.

The orange-haired kunoichi leaped and reached for the leg of the enemy, seized it and pulled. The unlucky foe lost his balance and fell down, while Moegi jumped upwards. The two of them met in mid-air. Or would be more precise to say that kunoichi's kunai met with the shinobi's neck.

She watched the body fall down and land atop the body of his comrade. She turned back and continued to climb, until she noticed hand that was offered to her.

"Thanks" she said grabbing it. Well, at least she found Konohamaru.

"No problem" she heard him answer and flinched, looking up, her mouths hanging open in disbelief.

"U-Udon?" she stuttered out.

"I take it that you're surprised... not that I blame you" the glass-wearing boy answered, pulling her back onto the rooftop.

"Don't take me wrong" she started. "Since I'm grateful and all, but... what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in hospital?"

"Well, about that" Udon replied sheepishly. "After you left for the mission the Hokage figured out that you were supposed to guard a princess with... um... issues and she decided that my... uh... diplomatic skills would be priceless during this mission... so she made sure I recovered and followed you as quickly as I could" he paused for a moment, observing Moegi. "What's wrong? You're not happy to see me?"

Moegi blinked and then slugged him on the arm. "It's not like that! It's just that... why are you always seem to rescue me lately?"

"That's my job!" he told her.

"No" she replied. "We never got a mission that said 'protect Moegi' you know?"

"Well, that's your opinion."

Moegi turned to the side and remained quiet for a moment, the reddening of her cheeks masked well by the darkness. "Actually" she started. "I'm happy to see you."

He grinned. "Glad to hear that."

She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and looked around. Udon sensed it to, next instant the two of them were back to back, her unfolding one of her smaller scrolls and him performing a few simple skills, each of them eyeing two or three enemies trying to surround them again.

"It seems I'll have to protect you yet again" he half-asked, half-stated.

"Oh?" she replied, her voice cheeky, a nasty smile forming on her lips. "Wanna see which one of us needs protection? Three guys for each one of us. The last one to beat them loses" she told him

"You're on" he told her, his genjutsu spreading all around him.

Moegi applied chakra to her scroll, already feeling back in her element. She just hoped Hanabi was faring as well as she was.

(* * *)

She wasn't.

Hanabi had followed the trail, which definitely led into the center of the fiery chaos. Hanabi bravely jumped into the mixture of flames and smoke, not paying much attention to the hit. Soon she reached some open space, a plot of land paved with stone, which managed to resist the the heat, a relatively peaceful island in the middle of fiery sea.

At then the trail ended. Or, to be more precise, the trail divided into several. It wasn't really surprising, what will all the destruction and bodies lying around.

Don't panic, don't panic, she told herself and then activated her Byakugan. But with her regular range she couldn't see much, just smoke and flames. Why, she wondered trying her focused long-range mode to no avail, while couldn't she see him? Was he even here? How long would it take to search the entire site with all these smoke and heat? Why her kekkei genkai couldn't be more powerful? One kilometer radius in all directions... was she asking for too much?

"Konohamaru!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, trying to outvoice the roaring of the flames.

No answer.

What should she do now? Look for the others? Go back to the palace? Go in a random direction?

Unable to decide, she dropped to her knees, panic and despair threatening to consume her.

Shit, she had left the princess, which had a meaning only if she managed to find Konohamaru, but she hasn't been able to do.

She has failed.

Failed as a daughter. Failed as a sister. Failed as a shinobi and a comrade. Failed as a friend. And she failed as a girlfriend... potential girlfriend anyway.

She didn't care anymore and started crying again. There was no-one he who could see her. No-one would be able to hear her over the fire. She cried her heart out, desperately trying to alleviate the tension and stop herself from collapsing.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, it couldn't be that long, since the fires hadn't died out yet, but her sobbing lessened, her tears mostly dried out by now.

And it was then when she heard something, something different than her sobbing. Something different than the howling wind. Something different than the crackling of fire.

Footsteps. It was the sound of footsteps.

Before she could properly identify where it came from or even react the voice followed. It was quiet, surprised and more hoarse than usual. But it was unmistakable.

"Hanabi?"

She slowly raised her head and despite her teary eyes and her temporarily useless brain she recognized him immediately.

He was looking as all shinobi who come back from a battle like that. His kunai pouch was missing and his clothes were torn in several places, usually accompanied by small cuts and blots of red. One particularly large wound was on his left arm, clearly indicating where some blade has sunk into his flesh and was pulled out later. This one was still bleeding – the red rivulet traveled all the way down his arm, almost concealing others, already dried trails of blood. His face was wasn't faring much better, as a few smaller cuts or scratch marks were present on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. His hair was ruffled impossibly more than usual, something that fitted him surprisingly well. Moreover, dark smudges could be seen on his face as if he had been playing in the dirt and only used his sleeve to try and wipe it off.

Konohamaru stopped a few steps from her while Hanabi continued to look at him, the looks on both their faces stupefied. And then both of them came to their senses and reached for their kunais or – in the case of Konohamaru – tried to, cause he had none left.

"What" Hanabi started, pointing the kunai at the boy and trying to tell herself that her hands was not shaking. "What shape is the cursed seal on my forehead?"

"You don't have a seal on your forehead. I mean it's not visible." Konohamaru answered and then countered with a question on his own. "Why is it not visible?"

"Shukaku" Hanabi answered simply and relaxed allowing her kunai to drop to the ground.

"What about the palace?" Konohamaru asked. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yes, I think so, the battle has already ended and-" she stopped when she noticed him coming closer and crouching in front of her. Close to her.

She barely registered Konohamaru speaking again.

"And you?"

"Huh? Me? What about me?" was all her sluggish brain could come up with.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he explained patiently, looking at her closely and then his expression changed back from brief relief to concern again.

"Are you-Were you crying?" he asked, this notion seemed as ridiculous to him as it was to her.

Her first reflex was denial, quickly followed by physical abuse, but apparently she was too mentally strained to manage that.

"Of course I was!" she told him, a little too loud than she intended, making Konohamaru comically lean back in fear.

"Huh?" his brain seemed to have issues as well. "Why? What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" she asked him back. She was almost shouting at this point and new tears spilled from her eyes, but she knew it wasn't because of sadness. "Whose fault do you think it is? It's yours!"

"Mine?" he shouted back, clearly shocked enough to actually argue. "What do you-Oww!" she slugged him in the stomach. "What was that for?!" he asked, but stopped short when he looked back at her, only to see her crying again.

"Wha-"

"Never, never do that again!" she clearly meant to order him, though it actually came almost as a pleading. "Never leave me alone like that! I was worried sick!"

"Hey, I didn't leave you alone and it was my job and-wait..." he paused, his eyes widening in realization. "You were worried about me?"

She glared at him, managing to look intimidating despite her puffy eyes.

"What's with the surprise?" she asked. "Of course I was worried about you!"

Konohamaru looked at her, taking in the sight of her puffed red eyes, disheveled hair and trembling lip.

What happened to her, he thought. Well, there had been enough damage done between them already... what more could he lose?

"Because we're teammates, right?" he asked slowly.

"No!" she shouted back at him. "I mean yes, I-I mean that too... but I was worried because... worried because..." she trailed off, looking at the ground, her hands clenching her skirt.

Konohamaru suddenly felt dizzy and it had nothing to do with his tiredness or the smoke.

"Because...?" he gently prodded after a moment.

Hanabi mumbled something that Konohamaru couldn't quite hear.

"What was that?" he asked, leaning closer to her, trying to shield himself from the sounds of their surroundings.

"I like you" Hanabi repeated in a whisper.

This time he heard her, but he didn't comprehend or didn't believe it. Or both.

"Umm..." he started. "I'm not sure I understand..."

"Oh?" Hanabi raised her head to look at him, her face aflame and eyebrow twitching. "Am I being too subtle?"

Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed him by his shoulders and got close enough to disturb his personal space, watching as his cheeks slowly turned red, her eyes boring into his.

"I. Like. You" she told him slowly as if trying to explain something to a child.

Konohamaru looked at her, his eyes wide with realization.

"B-but" he mumbled, by now as red as tomato. "Yesterday you said-"

"I was wrong, okay?" she admitted and then looked away from him. "I was... umm... surprised, uncertain and... stupid... and scared... a little too... um... proud, I guess? And I don't mind if you're a commoner!"

Konohamaru gulped. He didn't want to anger Hanabi, but he couldn't shake this nasty feeling that it was just a dream. Or worse – some kind of genjutsu. But the pain in his arm proved otherwise. Still he had to be certain.

"Um... don't get me wrong, but could you say it one more time?"

She looked at him, her face oddly determined.

"I like you!" she told him again. "I like you! I like you! I like you!" by now she was flailing her arms around, her eyes closed in a comical outburst. She was also loud enough that Konohamaru was certain half the country was able to hear her.

He stepped back and waited for a good minute before she calmed down and her shouting was reduced to barely above whisper.

"I like you..."

"Yes, I heard that" he chuckled. "And I believe you."

A short silence ensued, but it wasn't half as awkward as he expected it to be.

"So... I know this place isn't exactly romantic or anything" Konohamaru started. "but does that mean that you and me... we... I mean..."

"Yeah" she answered with a sniff. "I'd love that... I mean if you'll still have me... with my attitude and issues"

"O-of course I will... as for those issues... I don't mind much... and it's not like we can't work on them" he answered, his hand scratching the back of his head in a nervous manner.

And then was when Hanabi remembered something.

"Ah!" she exclaimed and then looked around, searching for something.

"What is it?" Konohamaru asked, once again confused, until Hanabi faced him again and handed him something.

"I found it back there when I was... um... searching for you" she told him.

Konohamaru remained silent while he watched the blue scarf she had given him.

And then he laughed. Hard.

"What's so funny?" Hanabi asked, clearly confused. Has he gone mad? Or maybe she has...

"Oh... it's nothing" he replied, shaking his head. "It's just... that's not mine."

Hanabi blinked. "What?" she asked dumbfounded.

"That's not my scarf" he told her.

"Don't be ridiculous!" she replied and here she thought nothing could surprise her anymore. "You had it as long as I've known you! It's your scarf and-"

"I told you before" Konohamaru interjected. "This scarf doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the most precious woman in my life."

"You mean your mother?"

"Not anymore" he said, swinging his arms and throwing the scarf around Hanabi's neck. "I mean you. It's your scarf now."

Hanabi opened her mouth, but no words came out, her cheeks busy inventing a brand new shade of red. Just as she was about to say something Konohamaru tugged at both ends of the scarf he was holding.

One moment Hanabi felt herself being pulled in...

...and the next thing she knew were Konohamaru's lip on her own.

She didn't know how long it lasted. Truth be told, she wasn't fully aware of it – the precise description of what was happening eluded her currently lagging brain, but her heart told her that it was good, because suddenly it seemed like it was pumping liquid fire through her veins instead of blood. But one thing was certain – it was slow, soft and gentle.

And it made her feel alive.

They separated finally and only then Hanabi realized her need for air.

"That was... Wow" Konohamaru said after a moment. "Just wow."

Hanabi nodded absent-mindedly, though her mind was still fuzzy, desperately trying to comprehend what just happened and reaching two obvious conclusions.

Just now Konohamaru had kissed her. They had kissed.

And she knew that she wanted more. No, she needed more.

"So... umm... I take it you're accepting my gift and-mmhm" he couldn't say anymore because Hanabi literally pounced him, throwing her hands around his neck and locking lips with him. This time she did it knowingly and took pleasure in Konohamaru's shock. She smiled into the kiss when she managed to knock him over and dominate him.

Well, at least for a moment, because she quickly learned that there was no way she could possibly win with a veteran, hyperactive, loud, perverted prankster in that aspect. After his initial shock Konohamaru kissed her back with so much passion that she got dizzy and her hold on him weakened. In no time flat he pushed her back and the next thing she knew was her back hitting something. Was it a wall, a rock or a tree – she didn't care. Whatever it was, it gave Konohamaru additional leverage and allowed him to deepen the kiss. Hanabi still tried to match his fervor, but lost the fight the moment Konohamaru somehow managed to slip his tongue past her lips, making her moan into the kiss. At this moment she melted, her brain going into a complete shut down, not even caring how embarrassing sounds she was making. Ironically, it was then when she was reminded that she had arms, because she used them to caress his hair and neck and he seemed to be doing something similar to her.

A few seconds later he pulled back briefly to give her a chance to breathe and then he resumed his ruthless assault. And she submitted gladly. Their surroundings ceased to exist once again, her world reduced to his smell, the taste of his lips, the touch of his hands and the sound of her own embarrassing voice which, unsurprisingly, seemed to encourage him.

The kiss ended a little too soon for Hanabi's liking, but she needed a break – she was panting as if she had just traveled from Konoha to Suna in one go. But it was okay... her mind was clear, her body felt light and she felt like she could _really_ run all the way to Suna right now.

Konohamaru chuckled again, his face still close to her, his hand playing with her hair.

"What?" she asked lazily.

"Nothing..." he said. "It's just... you have this really stupid grin on your face."

Normally she would hit him for even thinking about her grinning or being stupid, but right now it only made her grin even wider.

"Well, that makes two of us... and yes, I'm accepting your gift" she said, wrapping his scarf around her neck a little tighter. "Um... boyfriend..." she added, blushing.

"Glad to hear it... girlfriend" he replied and then leaned in to kiss her again.

(* * *)

While the two youngsters were busy with each other a lone figure observed them from a fair distance. For a normal human it would be difficult to discern what was happening. But not for a shinobi.

The figure was unmoving the entire time, now even flinching when another figure approached from behind and stopped next to it.

For a moment there was complete, yet heavy silence silence.

"So..." Udon started gently after a short while. "It happened" he simply stated.

"Yeah" Moegi answered without any visible trace of anger or regret.

Paradoxically, it made Udon worry. He knew that what he was about to ask wasn't going to be polite or pleasant, but he wasn't a miracle worker – in order to help her he needed more information.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Moegi sighed in response. "Yeah... more or less anyway" she turned to look at him and noticed his surprised expression. "What?"

"Erm... don't take me wrong" he answered. "But I expected you to appear more... ugh... down after you learn this."

She eyed him for a moment.

"So you knew?"

He decided to be honest.

"Yes, I know it might be a shock to you, but it was rather obvious to everyone... well, maybe except Hanabi."

Moegi only nodded and Udon thought it to be good enough sign to probe a little deeper.

"So... how come you're not affected by... this?"

"I am affected" she told him, slightly narrowing her eyes at his scientific choice of words. Typical Udon. "It's just... it's just that I realized that I already knew this... for some time now. Call it a hunch. A woman's intuition. Or whatever. I just knew, but I guess I couldn't go down without a fight. That would be disgrace to shinobi name."

"I get it... I think" he said slowly. It wasn't exactly what you would call a good ending, but they'll live and he couldn't be picky. Guess this was good enough for now.

Moegi sighed yet again and then turned around to leave. "Tomorrow afternoon be sure to leave the guarding for sensei and Mr. and Mrs. Lovey-dovey there."

"Huh?" he asked, not understanding and he rarely didn't understand anything.

"You should be... no, you're taking me out for dinner tomorrow at 2 PM. Don't be late" she told him and then walked away, leaving Udon speechless.

What... just happened? Does not compute! He then slumped his shoulders and started to follow her back to the palace. Oh whatever, it's not like he was able to understand girls in the first place. What was he getting surprised for?

Still, considering all that has happened, this outcome didn't seem bad if he said so himself.

Not bad at all.

(* * *)

The yesterday assault left some obvious damage to the palace grounds and most could not be repaired overnight. Still, the situation was seemingly contained, as everyone was behaving as if nothing happened. This made Konohamaru think for a moment. Were they people here used to such things? The only other logical explanation was that it was all some genjutsu, but he tried to dispel it multiple times and nothing happened. He was thus forced to assume that it either was real or the infinite tsukuyomi was somehow back and kicking.

He turned the last corner leading to his destination and spotted the chamberlain who noticed him immediately.

"Oh, welcome, the princess has been expecting you" he said, holding the door open for him.

Konohamaru only nodded and then entered Kotomi's personal chambers.

He didn't expect the guards to be there all the time, but he definitely didn't expect for the princess to be all alone, which seemed to be the case right now – aside from him and Kotomi leaning on the windowsill, possibly enjoying nice afternoon weather.

"Um..." he started. "Good morning... prin-I mean Kotomi-san."

For a moment he thought that she didn't hear him or that maybe something happened to her, but she replied.

"Good morning, Konohamaru-kun" her voice was still somewhat kind, sweet and melodic, but it was noticeably colder than how she sounded during their "date". In other words, she was either sad or pissed. He guessed it was a bit of both.

"Umm... where are your other guards? Shouldn't there be someone after yesterday?"

"There are guards" she replied. "But I sent them away briefly, so we can talk in private."

"It won't be long... I'm here to say goodbye" he told her simply.

"Yeah, I know" she replied, turning around. He had to hand it over to her, the aura of seriousness and melancholy did nothing to diminish her beauty although it was now different... it seemed her natural charm could never be destroyed, it could only transform.

"So I assume that you... ugh... know what happened..."

She only nodded.

"...and that your father allowed us to terminate the contract prematurely."

"For the record" she told him. "He didn't want to allow it, but I asked him."

"You did?" Konohamaru asked incredulous.

"Yeah... after all this... I probably wouldn't be able to stand knowing the two of you are smooching around every corner."

"We would not!" he told her. Hanabi would definitely not do that and he wouldn't do that either... Though he'd like to... "And I umm... sorry I couldn't... umm... reciprocate your... feelings."

He didn't say anymore and it seemed to be a good choice, because Kotomi's face tensed and her gaze hardened a little.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Umm... actually no..." he told her, recalling what he and Hanabi decided upon in the brief moment when they were alone and Konohamaru had cooled down enough to keep his hands (and lips) to himself.

Kotomi raised her royal eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You know about us... I mean about me and Hanabi and... we would like to ask you-"

"To keep the two of you being together a secret, am I correct?"

"Umm, yes... how did you know?"

She sighed and then started walking towards him. "It was simply on the top of the list of things you could ask for... although I can't understand why... no matter... I shall grant your request... "

"Thank you so much Kotomi...-chan!"

"Buuut" she interjected, looking him right in the eye. "Not for free. I would like something in return. Two things actually."

"Umm... what would those be?"

"First" she raised a single finger. "You will promise me that you'll visit me if you become single again in a year or two. Of course you can visit me anyway."

Konohamaru very much doubted Kotomi herself will remain single for two years and he didn't have the slightest intention to become single either. But if that was what she wanted...

"Okay... I promise... so what's the second condit-mphf!" his question was muffled when Kotomi threw her hands around his neck, pulled and crashed their lips together, making Konohamaru feel pretty much the same way Hanabi felt when he first kissed her.

It didn't last long and he definitely enjoyed kissing Hanabi more, though he wasn't going to lie to himself – kissing Kotomi was not a terrible experience either.

He pulled back as soon as he regain the control of his body and glared at Kotomi, especially after hearing her utter a particular needy moan when the kiss ended.

"What was that for?" he asked, both the smartest and the dumbest question in his life so far.

"Because I wanted to" she replied, stepping back and out of his personal space. "And that was my first kiss, so you should feel honored you know? Anyway, I know you have no reason to believe me and sometimes I have problems believing myself... but I really like you."

He remained silent for a moment. "Why?" he asked simply.

"Do you really need a reason to like someone?" she asked him. "Still, I guess you can't have everything, huh?"

He couldn't argue with either of those statements.

"Seems that way..." he told her. "I take it those are all of your... conditions?"

"Yes... Now... I would like to be alone for a while" she replied turning around, her face a dead giveaway that she wasn't as far from crying as he had originally thought. "Leave now, please... Leave before you completely destroy my world."

He did as he was told.

(* * *)

On the way back he was deep in thought and the result was predictable – he got lost once again. Well, all he could hope was for Hanabi to find him by miracle, but fate, it seemed, has something slightly different in store for him.

"Hey... need some help?"

He turned around only to see...

"Udon!"

"Yeah, that's me" the geeky boy answered. "What's that surprised look for?"

"The last time I saw you you were in Konoha hospital!"

"No" Udon told him. "The last time you saw me was yesterday... though I cannot blame you for forgetting that... so many important things happening."

Konohamaru groaned, not needing to ask what Udon was referring to. "Let me ask – is there anyone around here who doesn't know yet?"

"I'm sure I would find a few people... And don't worry about me, Moegi or Ebisu-sensei. Your secret is safe with us."

"How does everyone know we want to keep it a secret?" Konohamaru asked.

"It's kinda logical... even though not exactly honest... anyway... congratulations man."

"Thanks... I guess..."

"What's wrong? I expected you to leap in joy in this situation."

"Moegi" Konohamaru answered simply. "She's confessed and... stuff happened. I'm worried about her."

"You don't need to... she took it surprisingly well..."

Konohamaru looked at him strangely. "How'd you know?"

"Let's just say me and her are having dinner together before we go... and I mean without you, Hanabi or sensei..."

"That's... good news, right?"

"I don't know..." Udon replied. "But I sure hope so... Now, you're headed for your room? I can point you in the right direction, but I cannot accompany you... I have to prepare for the dinner if I want to keep it from turning into an utter fiasco."

Konohamaru nodded, not asking how Udon knew where his and Ebisu's room was. The glass-wearing boys simply knew some things and that's it.

(* * *)

It wasn't completely unreasonable for her to wait for him in the corridor leading to his room, but Konohamaru was still surprised when he spotted Hanabi.

"Hey" she greeted him. She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest (and Konohamaru decided that he liked this particular stance of hers). She was looking more like her usual self, more cold, distant and dignified. He didn't know whether it was because she wanted to keep their relationship a secret, because she was embarrassed, because she tried to maintain her image of because she was mad at him for some reason. He hoped for the first option.

"Hey" he replied, having no clue how to proceed. After they have returned yesterday they kept some distance between them and right now they were back to the issue of them.

"Umm... I met Udon along the way."

"Yeah, I know" she told him. "It seems we and sensei are going to have a dinner before our trip back to Konoha."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" he asked.

"For Moegi and Udon? Probably. For us? Not so much..."

"Yeah... I'm sure Ebisu will want to have a little... uh... talk with us."

Hanabi nodded. "You're going back for your stuff?" she asked.

"Yes" he answered. "Umm... is something wrong?"

Hanabi bit her lip, the simple gesture managing to mesmerize him, before answering with a question.

"Did you say goodbye to... the princess?"

"Yes..." he replied.

She looked at the ground for a moment, before looking at him again, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Did you like it?"

His eyes widened. Did he like it? Like what? Unless...

"You were watching!" he accused her, incredulous.

"Yes" she answered after a moment, her eyes not changing. "And yes, I'm jealous..."

He looked at her for a moment, thinking how rare was it for her to so openly admit something like that so soon. He was proud of her... he wasn't going to say it aloud though.

"You know she forced this one on me, right?" he asked.

"Yeah... but you still enjoyed it, didn't you?"

"Umm..." before he had the chance to defend himself Hanabi grabbed his hand and pulled him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to make you forget all about her" she told him, dragging him in the direction of his room. "And since we have some time, we're going to start now."

Konohamaru only nodded and allowed Hanabi to take the lead this time. Not that he minded – he was actually quite keen to see her take the initiative sometimes...

And he didn't need to think too deeply to guess how exactly she planned to make him forget.

The trips back to Konoha were often the best part of the mission, but this could turn to be the best one yet.

**(* * *)**

**And here we are! That's almost it. The only thing that is left (for this fanfiction anyway, as sequel is possible) is the epilogue... and I will try to post it before the next week is out.**

**I'm aware that some plot parts seem incomplete, but most of them either will be completed in the epilogue or are simply intended to stay that way (the identity of the attackers being the prime example), as the focus of the story obviously lies elsewhere...**

**Also, when I was in the middle in designing and writing the confession-kissing scene between Hanabi and Konohamaru I thought "wait a moment... where have I seen female acting like that... ah... Naru and Keitarou from Love Hina".**

**This chapter is also brought to you (in a way) by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and The Witcher (fourth installment of the book saga if I remember it right).**

**Don't forget to review, as I would really like to know what you think about the story.**

**Ok, that's all... see you in the epilogue!**


	27. Epilogue

**Hello, everyone! I'm back with the newest and last chapter of the Flowers of Trees!**

**This one is only around 2500 words, yet it took me ages to finish it. Sorry for being so late with it, I have no excuse (still, I blame it on TWGOK). Not much to say here, I just hope you will enjoy it and please read the final notes at the end of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: for the last time, I don't own Naruto!**

**(* * *)**

Uzumaki Naruto was heading towards his apartment after several hours of his pre-Hokage training with Tsunade-baachan and that meant paperwork. Pretty troublesome paperwork. Don't get him wrong – he knew that was the part of the job and he accepted it. But that doesn't mean he has to like it.

Still... this whole training has its occasional perks. Like the possibility of browsing through documents that would otherwise be inaccessible even to Konoha hero like him. Documents as in mission reports.

One such report in particular piqued his interest. Not only was it less boring than the usual ones (really, how can one make a ninja spy and battle mission report sound so boring?), but it concerned none other than Konohamaru and his team. Reading this report led Naruto to some... interesting conclusions.

Oh, no... it wasn't spelled right in the report... but Naruto kinda remembered the request for that particular mission, mainly because it concerned Konohamaru, and the additional info that came afterwards. Naruto remembered Tsunade-baachan yell something about royalty, princesses and disregard for details. Naruto at the time didn't understand what was such a big deal, but he also had the feeling that something was amiss.

And the lecture of the report only confirmed this strange hunch he had. He still needed to read between the lines, pester Tsunade-baachan and observe Konohamaru. It would be quite difficult to spot something irregular if he wasn't looking for it... but once he started to pay attention it become obvious that something happened. And one talk with Konohamaru later he knew what exactly happened (more ore less).

It was obvious that he was the only one who was supposed to know (maybe besides Konohamaru's teammates), but Naruto could swear he saw a smirk of victory on Tsunade-baachan's face that told him all he needed to know and he didn't dare nor wanted to ask about it.

All in all, he was walking home in quite the good mood – how could he not be when his student, almost his protegee, managed to succeed. Though he was a bit disappointed at how Konohamaru pleaded him to keep this a secret with uncertain expression. What was that supposed to mean? Did he wanted to imply that him, Uzumaki Naruto, was incapable of keeping a secret.

Hmpf! That cheeky brat...

He finally arrived at his apartment. Compared to his younger days it was less messy, but it still wasn't perfectly clean. However, even he noticed that something was out of order.

A blank scroll was lying on the floor – a perfect example of inconspicuousness, exactly as Naruto intended it to be. Except Naruto knew exactly what it was and why it was blank.

"Damn it, Konohamaru!" the blond ex-jinchuuriki exclaimed. "Bijuu scroll is not a toy!"

(* * *)

Konohamaru obviously couldn't hear him, as he was currently in a far away place... hell... even if Naruto had been next to him, he probably still wouldn't be able to hear him, his mind focused on the serene situation he found himself in...

Well... as serene as the bijuu realm actually gets...

It wasn't that bad though. They did meet two new bijuus and Konohamaru quickly concluded that while Shukaku definitely seemed the most deranged, he had some serious competition. And the bug bijuu did try to play with them, offering to give them a ride to their current destination. If Konohamaru had known (and he should have) about the bijuu's fondness for air acrobatics, he would've refused... even if the flight had its... more romantic moments.

But still, he thought looking to his left and smiling, this definitely wasn't feeling to bad.

To his left, seated on the grass-looking thingy just as him, there was Hanabi, her back against the trunk.

"I'm not sleeping" she told him and opened her eyes, as if sensing his gaze (made him wonder... can she activate her kekkei genkai with her eyes closed?).

He chuckled inwardly. Of course she wasn't sleeping. She made visible and conscious effort not to lean on him (too much), something she would do if she was truly asleep. Besides, he knew how she looked when she was asleep.

Not that she has to know this. Not right now at least.

"If you say so..." he told her. "You do look sleepy though."

She didn't reply, nor huff, which he took as a silent confirmation. Not that he expected her to admit it aloud. Ah, wonders of non-verbal communication. It seemed that despite all that happened, Hanabi was still Hanabi. Prideful, stubborn and clumsy... at least when it came to socializing and... girl and boy... stuff.

The last mission was kinda big shock to all of them, though to the outsider observer it might seem strange. But the truth was that many things happened too fast and decisions were made too fast as well.

Not that he regretted them, not in the least, but the atmosphere back then was different due to the constant tension and misunderstanding. Now it was calm. Now they had time to get used to those new things.

And it seemed that Hanabi calmed down as well, pulled herself together and acted more like her old (not too old) self. She was now much more reserved with him and especially careful when they were in public, to the point when she tried to sometimes bicker with him (not that they weren't bickering from time to time). However, that public acts of hostility were just that – just acts and, in result, they seemed a bit unnatural, but he wasn't complaining.

Not when he could spent time with her like this. Just the two of them (not counting Matatabi, who somehow refused to step too far away from them, acting like a guarding dog... or cat) meeting in secret like that. It was a good place. Their place. Kinda. They shouldn't overuse it though, Konohamaru was sure Naruto would not be too happy when he learns of this.

Speaking of Naruto, Konohamaru was slightly concerned about the older boy keeping their secret. Hanabi took the news calmly and told him that it was fine and she trusts Naruto. Konohamaru wanted to say that she didn't know Naruto well enough, but decided against it.

It's not like he could do anything about it, right?

"What are you thinking about?" he hear Hanabi speak and turned to look at her, once again surprised at her look. It didn't seem different than her normal gaze, focused and intent as usual. What was different was what she was focusing on. She was focused on him, looking at him with purpose. Seemingly gazing through him in a way her Byakugan never could.

Like she wanted to see his very soul. Not that she was capable of things yet, but she was trying.

"Well" he told her, the usual nervousness getting to him. He might have gotten better, but he was still clumsy sometimes and was scared of screwing things every once in a while. That made two of them, right? "You know just thinking about stuff... about Naruto, about you, I guess."

"I told you not to worry" she replied, her tone holding a trace of scolding, but he knew it was just a front used to cover her embarrassment caused by him thinking of her. "I'll be fine."

"I'd really like that if it were... the life of a shinobi taught me to expect the unexpected... what if your father learns about us?"

"Then we have a problem" she told him plainly. "I told you, we must keep it a secret until the time is right."

"And when would that be?"

"When my father is prepared for it. A shinobi always makes preparation before attempting a dangerous mission."

"I hear you" he nodded. "I just wonder why not tell your sister... she is intent enough on changing the clan. She could help."

"Hinata?" Hanabi asked, her cheeks reddening. Not that they weren't pink before. "No way in hell. She would only end up leaping in glee and joy and fangirling over the entire thing."

"Fangirling?"

"Don't even ask."

If Konohamaru was a civilian he wouldn't be able to notice, but through the entire conversation Hanabi had been slowly inching towards him, too proud or too shy to admit she wanted to get closer. It almost made him laugh.

He could imagine and accept stubborn, commanding and a little snobbish Hanabi. He could also very much like the shy girl who didn't really know what to do with her new feelings. But being able to see both side of her personalities was even better.

While it was true that Hanabi returned to control of her emotions she still had every flaw of a Hyuuga – until she could control those feelings she could wear her mask and fool everyone, maybe even him. But once something managed to get past her armor she was prone to panicking and acting in a completely silly and cute ways.

Sometimes she gave him the slightest of hint, making him kiss her, while she let him think that he started it... or at least that what she probably believed, as it was easy for him to see through her most of the time. Other times she apparently needed to be in command and told him what she wanted quickly and bluntly. And he probably liked that even more.

And the absolutely best ones were when she tried to act in charge and failed halfway through. The only downside was that he couldn't help but laugh then and that could raise Hanabi's embarrassment level to the point of (mild) violence.

But he didn't mind. As long as she turned out to be a regular girl with regular emotions it was fine with him. And it was clear as day it was fine with her as well.

"And the other thing?" he asked. "About you leaving the team?"

She sighed in response. "It has to be done. We're professionals after all. Well, at least I am" she threw him an accusing glance.

"Yeah right" he rolled his eyes theatrically. "And you're Miss poker face. Completely unaffected by anything during missions. Not at all."

She didn't hit him or even scoff, actually surprising him. Was she getting less tensed or it was just him, losing his prankster edge?

"The others will miss you, you know?"

"I know, but we can still do some mission together and meet each other, but I think we cannot be an official team. Besides, I think I did manage to learn what my father wanted me to learn..."

"And much more" he told her with a smirk.

"...and" she continued, pretending to ignore him. "I think I will just return to being a good daughter... except for any arranged marriages of course..."

"So I can assume that if Hibari" Konohamaru said the name with obvious disdain. "Or some prince from some neutral country proposes to you..."

"I'm going to turn them down, of course... as long as you remain a good boy."

Konohamaru didn't have the slightest clue what she could possibly mean by "good boy", but he nodded anyway. Millions of men have tried to understand the minds and words of women before him and failed miserably, so he wasn't going to go too deep into that. Especially since Hanabi wasn't your typical girl.

"But still... a good daughter?" he asked. "You want to be on such good terms with your father after this whole... seal business?"

"Of course" she told him, turning to look at him, at this point their faces were close and Konohamaru realized their hands met. "After all, he was the one who put me in your team. I have to thank him for that."

Konohamaru didn't answer with words, instead he gulped, his eyes locked with hers. It was moments like that when he was completely lost. He was already aware of the invisible force making him lean in her direction, knowing he would probably never be able to refuse her pleading (or was it commanding?) gaze.

Was she doing it instinctively? He hoped so, because otherwise she already had an upper hand.

On the other hand, he thought as their lips met, if it was feeling like this, the he'd be gladly let her have her way.

And thus they were back in the place they were once before – resting at the foot of a tree. Granted, for a bijuu it was a very young tree at best, but for the two shinobi it was the closest thing to a real tree in this entire realms. It was a little exotic, but a tree nonetheless – a dark solid and rough bark of the trunk which then turned into smaller branches completed with leaves, flowers and even fruits.

And just as that fateful night they were alone, but together. Only this time it was bright daylight instead of darkness of the night. Only this time they were not tired from fighting with a deadly enemy. This time they were not enemies, not just comrades. And not just friends.

He was Sarutobi Konohamaru. And she was Hyuuga Hanabi. But they were more, they were together. They were connected, literally and figuratively.

And just like back then they were unaware of the tree, their eyes closed, so in the all-embracing darkness they were aware only of each other, completely focused on each other and their feelings.

They were one.

They were one despite being different, because they didn't need to be the same to fit with each other,

He was like the trunk – sturdy, determined, blunt and stubborn.

She was like the flower – smooth, pretty, but fragile inside.

Or maybe he was the flower – sensitive, compassionate and understanding.

And maybe she was the trunk – rough, cold and unapproachable.

Or maybe both of them were one and the other. It didn't matter: the tree needed both its trunk and its flower in order to bear fruit. They were both a part of something greater, working as one.

She was "Hanabi". Hana hi. The fiery flower.

He was "Konohamaru". Ko no ha. The leaves of trees.

Together they are "Ko no Hana".

The flowers of trees.

**(* * *)**

**So... as you have probably figured out by now, the Japanese title for this KonoHana fanfiction is... "Ko no Hana". I think it's fitting :)**

**This idea occurred to me only after a few first chapters were ready (but not yet published), but it followed me ever since and I'm glad it's finally revealed.**

**Back to the important things... yes, this is the end of this fanfiction, but that doesn't mean the story ends here. I plan on making a sequel, but it's only a plan for now. I have other matters to attend to and I'm thinking of writing a TWGOK fanfiction. It won't start soon (if ever) and it will end much, much later probably... so I guess this is a goodbye for now.**

**I would like to thank all of my readers who stuck with me till the end. Thank you for your comments, thoughts, views, reviews, favorites and so on. They really helped me a lot. I hope you will continue to read my future works, when they appear.**

**Also, special thanks goes to ZelgadisGW, my unofficial beta reader. Thank you very much for your support, orokanaru otouto (yes, he's my little brother) – I think I wouldn't be able to finish this story without you.**

**Lastly, if you enjoyed this story you are free to drop me a review. I would really like to know what do you think about this.**


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